Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $131.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $129.00 to $131.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PRU. TD Cowen upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $108.31.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $122.21 on Monday. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $127.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $116.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.53. The firm has a market cap of $42.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 50.72%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% in 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. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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.