Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $1.99 Million Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 22.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,769 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays dropped 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 report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.92.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded up $0.37 on Friday, hitting $107.37. 1,434,144 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,620,073. The company's 50 day moving average price is $104.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.06. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The firm's revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.12 EPS. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial 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.