Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,649,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,178 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $299,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,044,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,321,000 after buying an additional 291,422 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,172,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,629,000 after buying an additional 17,030 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,095,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,599,000 after purchasing an additional 7,526 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 897,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,321,000 after purchasing an additional 89,915 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 864,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,705,000 after purchasing an additional 4,995 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $92.00 price target (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $101.50.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $102.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $35.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $119.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $98.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.56.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.29 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.61%.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.