WESPAC Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)

WESPAC Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 483 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC’s holdings in Prudential Financial were worth $1,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,134,000 after buying an additional 305,143 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,309,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,120,000 after acquiring an additional 50,026 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,571 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.3% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,265,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $153,312,000 after purchasing an additional 28,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,065,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $129,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Argus upgraded Prudential Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,220,694.75. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 261,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $127.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.72. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $94.92 and a one year high of $129.13. 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 (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.33 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

Prudential Financial 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.