Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by AlphaCentric Advisors LLC

AlphaCentric Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 14.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $68,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,705,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRU has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.46.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $111.54 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.78. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $104.44 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.