New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 36,491 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 309,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 36,491 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.09% of Prudential Financial worth $32,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Financial Corp IN boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,086 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.6% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 50,718 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,813,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $118.00 price target (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Prudential Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $111.42.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded down $0.68 on Friday, hitting $110.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,014,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,422. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.22 and a 12 month high of $118.69. The company has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.37. The stock's 50-day moving average is $111.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The business had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 77.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.31% 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.