Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Given New $100.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut Prudential Financial’s price target to $100 from $105 and maintained an “underweight” rating, implying about 12% downside from the stock’s $113.65 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Prudential has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with one Buy, ten Hold, and five Sell ratings and an average price target of $107.46.
• Prudential exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $4.08 versus the $3.52 consensus, while institutional investors owned 56.83% of shares; insiders owned just 0.05% and reported recent sales.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $100.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential downside of 12.01% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $131.00 to $127.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $119.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $107.46.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PRU traded down $2.26 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $113.65. The stock had a trading volume of 527,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,015,592. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $91.89 and a 52 week high of $127.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $118.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.90. The firm has a market cap of $39.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.85.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This trade represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Orca Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,605,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 21.3% in the second quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 58,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,325,000 after purchasing an additional 10,257 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 379.8% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 619,701 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,884,000 after purchasing an additional 490,553 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 32.4% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 28,105 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 6,877 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 739,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $79,792,000 after purchasing an additional 19,451 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc NYSE: PRU is a global financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial products. Founded in Newark, New Jersey, in 1875, the company serves individuals, businesses and institutional investors through a range of businesses and distribution channels.

In the United States, Prudential offers life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and employee benefits, including group life, disability and dental insurance.

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