Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock Rating Lowered by Wells Fargo & Company

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $103.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 2.58% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on PRU. Wall Street Zen lowered Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Evercore lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.78.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:PRU opened at $100.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market cap of $34.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $110.14 and a 200 day moving average of $107.45. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The business had revenue of $15.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.69, for a total value of $861,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,535 shares in the company, valued at $1,242,204.15. This trade represents a 40.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jacques Chappuis purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $100.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,970.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,970. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 2,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 28,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 7,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.