Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 2,638 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,638 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $8,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,660 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PRU. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $125.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $122.60. 258,813 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,548,654. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $121.04 and a 200 day moving average of $120.66. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $100.60 and a one year high of $130.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.24%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

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.