Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock Price

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective lowered by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $117.00 to $113.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 9.72% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $121.85.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 2.4%

PRU opened at $102.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $105.31 and its 200-day moving average is $108.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.07. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 3.84% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.64 per share, with a total value of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 3,168,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This trade represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRU. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $115,878,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $555,513,000 after purchasing an additional 897,916 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 11,280.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,923,000 after acquiring an additional 860,239 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $90,010,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $469,777,000 after purchasing an additional 678,028 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.