Westpac Banking Corp Trims Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Westpac Banking Corp cut its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,615 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $4,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU stock opened at $112.83 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. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.45 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $112.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.87.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.29%.

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.