Prudential Financial, Inc. $PRU Stake Trimmed by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 44.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 52,875 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $6,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 71.1% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 13,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 5,412 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $1,285,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 312.8% during the third quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 12,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 9,183 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,856,000. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 108,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,291,000 after buying an additional 19,600 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $103.48 on Monday. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $119.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $110.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.35, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.97.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $15.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total value of $762,215.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,618,974.44. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,242,204.15. This trade represents a 40.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PRU shares. Evercore lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.11.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.