Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $121.92.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $103.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.68. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This trade represents a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 87,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.72 per share, for a total transaction of $2,499,989.84. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 87,047 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,499,989.84. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 90.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% 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.