Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $116.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price target upped by Evercore ISI from $115.00 to $116.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PRU. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. TheStreet raised Prudential Financial from a c+ rating to an a- rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a neutral rating and set a $118.00 price target (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Prudential Financial from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $111.42.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

PRU stock opened at $110.50 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.80. Prudential Financial has a twelve month low of $77.22 and a twelve month high of $118.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The firm had revenue of $13.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 77.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,527,504.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 7,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.57, for a total value of $857,415.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,527,504.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total value of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,350.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664 in the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 5.5% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 2,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $652,000. LifePro Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $271,000. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.