Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $118.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $117.00 to $118.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on PRU. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $120.73.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $104.45 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $36.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $103.89 and its 200 day moving average is $104.44. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $90.38 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $8.35 billion for the quarter. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.65% and a return on equity of 16.98%. Research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 74.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.65, for a total transaction of $438,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,358,132.90. The trade was a 15.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 5.9% during the third quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 4,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $445,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 147.3% during the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 1,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.5% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 21,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,239,000 after buying an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 52.0% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 1,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 229,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,809,000 after buying an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. 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.