Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Receives $118.80 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $118.80.

Several brokerages have weighed in on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $109.54 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $112.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Prudential Financial has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $123.88. The company has a market cap of $38.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.97.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $4.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by $0.54. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.60% and a net margin of 4.65%.The firm had revenue of $17.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.18%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, Chairman Charles F. Lowrey sold 48,164 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.39, for a total transaction of $5,172,331.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 165,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,779,917.96. The trade was a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total transaction of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,242,204.15. This trade represents a 40.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 62,719 shares of company stock worth $6,796,067 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,566,432,000 after buying an additional 600,482 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,402,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,010,474,000 after acquiring an additional 163,874 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,701,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,214,000 after purchasing an additional 62,366 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,408,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,817,000 after purchasing an additional 31,088 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,044,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,321,000 after purchasing an additional 291,422 shares in the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.