Apollon Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,297 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after purchasing an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 1.6% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 47,561 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.0% in 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 in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on PRU shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU opened at $111.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $119.41 and a 200-day moving average of $120.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.02 and a 1-year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 69.61%.

About Prudential Financial

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.