Viking Fund Management LLC Sells 4,000 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Viking Fund Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Prudential Financial accounts for about 1.8% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $9,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 1,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PRU. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $121.00 to $143.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.25.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,472.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Falzon sold 130,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.57, for a total transaction of $15,425,008.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 202,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,960,981.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $117.19. 552,427 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,475,801. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $116.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.35. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.51 and a 52 week high of $121.39.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.50 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.76% and a return on equity of 15.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.41 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.44%.

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.