Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Sells 328 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lessened its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 328 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.2% during 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. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the third quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $118.98 on Tuesday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $100.60 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $42.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $122.06 and a 200-day moving average of $120.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS 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 last year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 46.22%.

Prudential Financial Company 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.