Brokerages Set Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) PT at $121.92

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $121.92.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $134.00 to $106.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 52,595 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.52 per share, with a total value of $1,500,009.40. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 139,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This trade represents a 60.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRU. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $115,878,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $555,513,000 after purchasing an additional 897,916 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 11,280.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 867,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $96,923,000 after purchasing an additional 860,239 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $90,010,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,206,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,777,000 after acquiring an additional 678,028 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $106.35. The stock had a trading volume of 220,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,613,912. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $37.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.07. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $104.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.12 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 38.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 85.58%.

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.