Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 88.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 89,087 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,062,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $128,700,000 after buying an additional 105,089 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,294,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,967 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.1% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE PRU traded up $1.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $103.60. 1,632,618 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,606,977. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.51. The stock has a market cap of $36.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The company had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. Prudential Financial's quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.21%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.77.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 87,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Prudential Financial

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.