Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Increases Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $118.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price target boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $112.00 to $118.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a c+ rating to an a- rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a neutral rating and set a $118.00 price objective (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Raymond James lowered Prudential Financial from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $114.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $110.67.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

PRU opened at $109.69 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.62. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $77.22 and a 1-year high of $118.69. The stock has a market cap of $39.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.99 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.89% and a return on equity of 14.52%. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total transaction of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 7,912 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.13, for a total transaction of $855,524.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,754 shares in the company, valued at $1,595,350.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock worth $3,215,664. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,292,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,386,192,000 after buying an additional 5,154,865 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 104,987.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,450,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448,301 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $172,363,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,281.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,368,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $141,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,248 shares during the period. Finally, Cowa LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 9,930.2% during the 1st quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 771,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 764,129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.