Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $116.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $116.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Prudential Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $122.15.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

PRU traded down $1.35 on Thursday, hitting $105.80. 1,425,059 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,664,329. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $105.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $108.79. The stock has a market cap of $37.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.07.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 3.84%. The business had revenue of $13.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 38.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.10%. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is 85.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,675,978 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.64 per share, for a total transaction of $48,000,009.92. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 3,168,461 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,744,723.04. This represents a 112.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 90.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 234 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 12,250.0% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 247 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Prudential Financial

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.