Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Shares Sold by Hilltop National Bank

Hilltop National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 751 shares during the quarter. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,131,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,830,000 after purchasing an additional 15,695 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 79,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,765 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 162,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,701,000 after purchasing an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,395,000 after buying an additional 10,964 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded down $3.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $115.40. 352,996 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,049,894. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.60 and a 12-month high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $41.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $122.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on PRU shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.17.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.