Piper Sandler Cuts Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $122.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price reduced by Piper Sandler from $124.00 to $122.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

PRU has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.08.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 8.1 %

Shares of PRU opened at $96.27 on Wednesday. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $95.73 and a 52-week high of $130.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.63. The company has a market capitalization of $34.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total transaction of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. This represents a 18.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 52,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. This represents a 60.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRU. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $115,878,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 23.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 897,916 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 176.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,804,000 after buying an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,303,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 322.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 711,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,287,000 after purchasing an additional 542,964 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.