Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Has $837,000 Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. cut its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 332 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 11.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 95,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,158,000 after buying an additional 9,889 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 34,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $743,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.7% during the second quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $281,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $122.44 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.07 and its 200 day moving average is $120.65. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $100.60 and a 52 week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRU. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” 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 raised their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial 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.