Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Downgraded to Underweight Rating by Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $103.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $115.00.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PRU. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.78.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $100.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $109.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.The business had revenue of $15.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.00%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, Director Joseph J. Wolk bought 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,128. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $2,618,974.44. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Prudential Financial by 30.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,134 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 127.1% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 815,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,654,000 after buying an additional 18,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookwood Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $289,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.