Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $113.8889.

Several analysts recently weighed in on PRU shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, December 23rd.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $97.98 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $34.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $99.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.28. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76. 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 (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $14.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 56.00%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,406,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $24.87 per share, for a total transaction of $34,985,598.93. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,709,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $191,738,348.88. This represents a 22.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas D. Stoddard purchased 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $102.97 per share, for a total transaction of $25,742.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 250 shares in the company, valued at $25,742.50. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have 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 Trading of Prudential Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.