Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Receives $113.89 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $113.8889.

A number of analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $115.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Friday, March 6th.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $97.69 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $100.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.33. The firm has a market cap of $33.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $119.76.

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

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.