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

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $120.6364.

PRU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares in the company, valued at $2,358,132.90. This trade represents a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRU. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Prudential Financial by 90.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 12,250.0% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth $28,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 350.8% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $103.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $36.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $104.17 and its 200 day moving average is $104.30. Prudential Financial has a 12-month low of $90.38 and a 12-month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.98%. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 19th were given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 19th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 119.73%.

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.