Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Receives $109.31 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.3077.

PRU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total value of $956,576.52. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,801,019.07. The trade was a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 10,014.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,173,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,818,360,000 after purchasing an additional 62,549,318 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $3,507,481,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,234,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,945,381,000 after buying an additional 210,959 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 26,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 420,081 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $119.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.84. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $127.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.29.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

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.