Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 36.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,943 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 41.8% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 388,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,031,000 after buying an additional 114,459 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 35,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,954,000 after purchasing an additional 2,913 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 167,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,837,000 after purchasing an additional 68,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 189,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,143,000 after purchasing an additional 6,620 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,675,978 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $120.15.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,334,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,650,979. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $103.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.89. The stock has a market cap of $37.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.84% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.11%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is currently 85.58%.

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.