LSV Asset Management Trims Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 388,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,900 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.11% of Prudential Financial worth $45,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 103.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 4,519 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 63.0% in the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 9,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 3,556 shares during the period. Orca Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the second quarter. Orca Investment Management LLC now owns 28,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,375,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 107.4% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 154,539 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,105,000 after purchasing an additional 80,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $79,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $113.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $118.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $120.83.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $114.94 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $118.10 and its 200 day moving average is $115.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.95 and a 1 year high of $128.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.30.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.43 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $13.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.78 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 16.00%. On average, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

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.