Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group lowered its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 278,309 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,762 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.08% of Prudential Financial worth $32,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PRU. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $126.08.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU traded down $8.06 on Thursday, reaching $104.65. 2,816,613 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,551,065. The stock has a market cap of $37.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28. 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 twelve month low of $104.45 and a twelve month high of $130.55. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 an increase from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.16%. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

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.