The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 5,600 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 214,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,600 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of Prudential Financial worth $26,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 61.7% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $129.41 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.45 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.29.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.44 EPS. Analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,694.75. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at $116,071,781.42. This trade represents a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on PRU shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Argus raised Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.92.

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.