Swiss National Bank Sells 51,400 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,020,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of Prudential Financial worth $105,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 146.5% in the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $36,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4,600.0% in the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PRU shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $115.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $95.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $33.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $106.97 and its 200 day moving average is $106.89. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $119.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.The firm had revenue of $14.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.00%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,406,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $191,738,348.88. This trade represents a 22.32% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph J. Wolk purchased 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,128. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.