Andrew F. Sullivan Sells 6,000 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Stock

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 3.4 %

PRU stock traded up $3.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $108.64. 1,596,456 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,437,886. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.45 and a 1 year high of $130.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.44.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. 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 4.97%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $115,878,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $555,513,000 after purchasing an additional 897,916 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,804,000 after purchasing an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,303,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 322.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 711,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,287,000 after buying an additional 542,964 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PRU. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $126.15.

Prudential Financial Company 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.