Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Research Coverage Started at Mizuho

Mizuho began coverage on shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating and a $125.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on PRU. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $116.80.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of PRU opened at $115.64 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $106.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.64. The stock has a market cap of $40.47 billion, a PE ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $123.88.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The firm had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total value of $762,215.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,618,974.44. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total transaction of $5,172,331.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 165,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,779,917.96. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 62,719 shares of company stock worth $6,796,067 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRU. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.6% in the first quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 43,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,911,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Korea Investment CORP grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the first quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 268,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,993,000 after acquiring an additional 9,630 shares in the last quarter. 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.