Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 273,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 85,593 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.08% of Prudential Financial worth $33,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRU. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Cadence Bank raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 166,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,197,000 after buying an additional 3,159 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 19.2% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth about $135,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $129.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.96 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.92 and a 1 year high of $129.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $123.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.44 EPS. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. This trade represents a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,220,694.75. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PRU. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.69.

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.