Morgan Stanley Raises Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $117.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $117.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

PRU has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.08.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.6%

PRU opened at $108.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.82. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 85.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 87,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.72 per share, with a total value of $2,499,989.84. Following the purchase, 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. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,705,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 9,417 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Altman Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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.