Raymond James & Associates Sells 38,247 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 487,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38,247 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $57,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 151.6% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded up $0.97 on Friday, reaching $112.26. 1,028,916 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,460,168. The company has a fifty day moving average of $112.14 and a 200-day moving average of $104.33. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.22 and a twelve month high of $118.69. The company has a market capitalization of $40.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business’s revenue was up 69.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRU. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total transaction of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.