Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $105.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective increased by Morgan Stanley from $92.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Argus lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:PRU opened at $120.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $41.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.84. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $127.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.05.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given 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 yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 50.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.5% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.8% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,630 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 15.1% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 4,895 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.