Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock Price Down 3.7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Prudential Financial shares fell 3.7% to about $118.11, with trading volume roughly 85% below its average. Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $109.31.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $4.08 in EPS versus $3.52 expected, although revenue of $14.15 billion came in below estimates.
• Prudential declared a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share, equivalent to a $5.60 annualized payout and a 4.7% yield; institutional investors own 56.83% of the company, while recent insider transactions were net sales.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) shares fell 3.7% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $118.32 and last traded at $118.1130. 313,936 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,110,758 shares. The stock had previously closed at $122.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Argus lowered Prudential Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $40.97 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.84. 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's 50 day moving average is $116.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.78.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.24 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 50.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,801,019.07. This represents a 34.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 10,014.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 63,173,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,818,360,000 after purchasing an additional 62,549,318 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,507,481,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,234,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,945,381,000 after purchasing an additional 210,959 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,078,904,000 after buying an additional 26,414 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $750,562,000 after buying an additional 420,081 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential's long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential's core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.

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