Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Plans $1.30 Quarterly Dividend

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 7th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st will be given a dividend of 1.30 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%.

Prudential Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 4.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 16 consecutive years. Prudential Financial has a payout ratio of 35.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Prudential Financial to earn $14.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.0%.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE PRU traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $116.23. 1,407,628 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,526,303. The company has a market cap of $41.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $77.87 and a 52 week high of $118.69. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $112.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.78.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 13.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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 that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,642,656.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at approximately $883,805.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. TheStreet raised shares of Prudential Financial from a "c+" rating to an "a-" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.08.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.