Level Four Advisory Services LLC Lowers Stock Position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PRU. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 7.4% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,423,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 21,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,607,000 after buying an additional 7,907 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,830,000 after buying an additional 15,695 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.3% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,597,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.15.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $635,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $109.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $113.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.92. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.45 and a twelve month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released 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, research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.