Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and nine have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $113.8889.

PRU has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $124.00 to $119.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Evercore restated a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard acquired 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $102.97 per share, for a total transaction of $25,742.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,742.50. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,406,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,738,348.88. This represents a 22.32% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,234,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,945,381,000 after purchasing an additional 210,959 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,904,000 after purchasing an additional 26,414 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $750,562,000 after buying an additional 420,081 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,701,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,214,000 after buying an additional 62,366 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,428,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,151,000 after buying an additional 15,865 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.2%

Prudential Financial stock opened at $94.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.98. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $14.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.00%.

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.