Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,383,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,758 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of Prudential Financial worth $288,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 162,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,701,000 after buying an additional 6,641 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $156,000. PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.0% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 64,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,533,000 after purchasing an additional 31,807 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 49.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 80,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,409,000 after purchasing an additional 26,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at $530,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,694.75. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Argus upgraded Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $127.92 on Friday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $94.92 and a one year high of $129.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $123.30 and a 200 day moving average of $119.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.29.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

About Prudential Financial

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.