Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.9%, selling 119,057 shares, and now owns approximately 1.11% of the company valued at $438.96 million.
• Prudential Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, yielding 5.1%, with the payout ratio currently at 119.73%.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $3.58 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, but revenue decreased by 2.5% compared to the previous year.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,931,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 119,057 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.11% of Prudential Financial worth $438,964,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PRU. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.6% during the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,973 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.8% during the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 42,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,723,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 90.2% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Northcape Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 5.8% during the first quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,106 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $122.08.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU traded up $1.0810 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $107.3310. The company's stock had a trading volume of 813,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,771,885. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $104.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.07. The company has a market cap of $37.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.36. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 2.75%.The company had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.39 EPS. Prudential Financial's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.