Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lessened its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,059,549,000 after purchasing an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.6% during 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 valued at $370,327,000 after purchasing an additional 47,561 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after purchasing an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,309,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,120,000 after purchasing an additional 50,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

Prudential Financial stock opened at $111.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $104.44 and a one year high of $130.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $117.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.82. The company has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 69.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment 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.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.46.

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.