Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Receives $122.77 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $121.85.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRU. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $115,878,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $555,513,000 after acquiring an additional 897,916 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 11,280.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $96,923,000 after acquiring an additional 860,239 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,804,000 after purchasing an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,303,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $99.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.11. Prudential Financial has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $107.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.43%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

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.