Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from an underperform rating to an inline rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $140.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $117.00.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $121.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded up $1.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $127.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,288,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,493,037. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $45.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $93.32 and a 52 week high of $129.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.11.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total transaction of $322,027.77. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,648,705.05. This represents a 16.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 57,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,791,000 after purchasing an additional 6,609 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Nwam LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. Hedge funds and other 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.