Morgan Stanley Cuts Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $111.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $111.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.00.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU stock opened at $99.13 on Tuesday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $108.02 and its 200-day moving average is $107.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.98. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.The firm had revenue of $15.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 56.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Jacques Chappuis bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $100.97 per share, with a total value of $100,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $100,970. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares in the company, valued at $2,618,974.44. This trade represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders purchased a total of 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $144,000. Bayban purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $273,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3,987.9% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,313 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently 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.