Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock Price Target Cut by Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut Prudential Financial’s price target from $110 to $104 and maintained an “underweight” rating, implying 8.43% downside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Prudential has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with one Buy, ten Hold, and five Sell ratings and an average target price of $108.46.
• PRU shares rose 0.4% to $113.58, while the company’s latest quarterly earnings of $4.08 per share exceeded estimates of $3.52; institutional investors own 56.83% of the stock.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $104.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential downside of 8.43% from the stock's previous close.

PRU has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $120.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Mizuho set a $108.00 target price on Prudential Financial in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $108.46.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE PRU traded up $0.49 on Monday, reaching $113.58. The company had a trading volume of 154,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,021,839. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.85. Prudential Financial has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $127.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $119.18 and a 200-day moving average of $110.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 16.68%. The company had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the second quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 3,860 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 14,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 34.8% in the 2nd quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. now owns 395 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 36,822 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,597,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

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 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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