Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Shares Sold by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel trimmed its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 34.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 59,091 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,208 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRU. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.5% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 3,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 32,644 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,708,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the period. Investment Partners LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $283,000. Unison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% during the third quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 37,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,263,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.4%

Prudential Financial stock opened at $116.35 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The stock has a market cap of $40.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.85.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann Kappler sold 7,652 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares in the company, valued at $1,801,019.07. The trade was a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Evercore decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $109.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $111.27.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc (NYSE: PRU) is a global financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial products. Founded in Newark, New Jersey, in 1875, the company serves individuals, businesses and institutional investors through a range of businesses and distribution channels.

In the United States, Prudential offers life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, including group life, disability and dental insurance.