Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Decreases Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 322,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,329 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $39,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Creekmur Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,312.4% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 26,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25,027 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PRU. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays initiated coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $118.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total value of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,648,705.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,648,705.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $124.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 266,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,488,644. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.95 and a fifty-two week high of $128.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.15.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $13.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.78 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 16.00%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 88.44%.

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.