Guggenheim Capital LLC Has $4.54 Million Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Guggenheim Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 36.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,277 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,249 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Altman Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $121.85.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of PRU traded up $2.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $103.93. 299,448 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,599,487. The company has a market cap of $36.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.20%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

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.