Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 864,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,021 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Prudential Financial worth $89,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,315,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,801,000 after purchasing an additional 36,599 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 46.8% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 63,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,020,000 after acquiring an additional 20,235 shares during the period. Arvest Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $2,112,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 268,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,500,000 after acquiring an additional 34,054 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 868,535 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $90,076,000 after purchasing an additional 127,772 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:PRU traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $108.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,335,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,776. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.22 and a 1 year high of $118.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average of $111.20 and a 200 day moving average of $102.94. The company has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. Prudential Financial's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James cut Prudential Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.33.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,350.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $883,805.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 in the last three months. 0.34% 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.