Ann Kappler Sells 7,652 Shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) 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 transaction of $956,576.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $122.21 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $116.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.53. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $127.72.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $3,507,481,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,234,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,381,000 after acquiring an additional 210,959 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,904,000 after buying an additional 26,414 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,562,000 after acquiring an additional 420,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Prudential Financial by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,089,000 after purchasing an additional 166,641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PRU. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $108.31.

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.