Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Holdings Lowered by Bokf Na

Key Points

• Bokf Na lowered its stake in Prudential by 24% in Q3 to 125,322 shares (about $13.0M), even as major shareholder Insurance Co. of America bought 1,406,739 shares; institutional ownership is 56.83% and insiders acquired roughly 1.41M shares in the last 90 days.
• Prudential raised its quarterly dividend to $1.40 (annualized $5.60), implying a 5.9% yield, with an ex-dividend date of Feb 17 and payment on Mar 12.
• Prudential reported Q EPS of $3.30, missing estimates by $0.07 while revenue of $14.52B slightly beat forecasts, and analysts' consensus rating is "Reduce" with a $115.22 price target.

Bokf Na lowered its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 24.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,322 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 39,531 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $13,001,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 146.5% in the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 4,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.6%

Prudential Financial stock opened at $94.90 on Thursday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $119.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $33.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.98. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $106.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.81.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $14.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.9%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Prudential Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Prudential Financial from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $115.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $115.22.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Jacques Chappuis bought 1,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $100.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,970.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,970. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,406,739 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.87 per share, for a total transaction of $34,985,598.93. Following the purchase, the insider owned 7,709,624 shares in the company, valued at $191,738,348.88. The trade was a 22.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential's long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential's core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.

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