Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 222 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 222 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after buying an additional 49,830 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after buying an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,327,000 after buying an additional 47,561 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,265,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,312,000 after buying an additional 28,459 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $111.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.77. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.44 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a market capitalization of $40.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.83%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.69.

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.