Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler lowered Prudential Financial’s price target from $128 to $120 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying approximately 6.11% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has one Buy, 10 Hold, and five Sell ratings, producing a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $109.
• Prudential reported quarterly EPS of $4.08, exceeding the $3.52 consensus estimate, while institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s shares.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $128.00 to $120.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Piper Sandler's target price points to a potential upside of 6.11% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on PRU. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $109.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $109.00.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $113.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.85. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $119.18 and its 200-day moving average is $110.20.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.50 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was 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 owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,801,019.07. This trade 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 corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 7,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,374,000 after purchasing an additional 5,949 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $998,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.7% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,164,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,852,593,000 after purchasing an additional 209,179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company's stock.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc NYSE: PRU is a global financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial products. Founded in 1875 and headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, the company serves individual, institutional and workplace customers through businesses in the United States and selected international markets.

In the United States, Prudential offers life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and group insurance products, including coverage for employees and their families.

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