Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $129.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $135.00 to $129.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on PRU. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.25.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $118.98 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $122.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $100.60 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a market cap of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.31.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.44 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,059,549,000 after purchasing an additional 49,830 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,134,000 after purchasing an additional 305,143 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,327,000 after acquiring an additional 47,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after acquiring an additional 344,254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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.