XML Financial LLC Lowers Stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

XML Financial LLC trimmed its position in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,140 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $2,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 376.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 61.7% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on PRU. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $127.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $120.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $42.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.69. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.60 and a 12-month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.26 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Prudential Financial Company 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.