Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC Sells 601 Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 41.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 601 shares during the period. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,830,000 after acquiring an additional 15,695 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 1,765 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 18.7% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 69,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,395,000 after purchasing an additional 10,964 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $114.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $100.60 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $40.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.63.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought 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 owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target 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 increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.17.

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.