Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,606 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.5% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 203,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,642,000 after acquiring an additional 22,588 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 72,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,313 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $807,000. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 86,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,442,000 after buying an additional 2,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth $61,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.77.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $113.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $120.07 and a 200 day moving average of $120.42. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.28 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The stock has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Profile

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.