Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Sells 11,047 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.0%, owning approximately $39.58 million worth of shares as of the latest SEC filing.
• Prudential Financial's quarterly earnings beat analysts' expectations with an EPS of $3.58, surpassing the consensus estimate of $3.22.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share, representing an annualized yield of 5.1%, with a payout ratio of 119.73%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 354,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,047 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.10% of Prudential Financial worth $39,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,320,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 728.4% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 68.2% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 110,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,373,000 after acquiring an additional 44,937 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 35,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,954,000 after acquiring an additional 2,913 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock traded up $0.17 on Monday, reaching $105.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,418,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,452,813. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $105.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.59. The company has a market capitalization of $37.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $13.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.47 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 2.75% and a return on equity of 15.80%. Prudential Financial's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 19th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is presently 119.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total value of $438,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.