NBC Securities Inc. Lowers Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

NBC Securities Inc. cut its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 9.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 163.5% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,306 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.9% in the third 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 during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,087,000. Crestline Management LP grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 60,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,223,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $761,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

PRU opened at $117.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $115.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $83.34 and a 12-month high of $121.39.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The company’s revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.44%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares in the company, valued at $23,960,981.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $121.00 to $143.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.25.

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.