Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $128.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $127.00 to $128.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

PRU has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.31.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $117.22 on Thursday. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $100.60 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $121.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267,571 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $123,804,000 after purchasing an additional 665,180 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 97.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 724,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,874,000 after purchasing an additional 357,300 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after buying an additional 341,787 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.