Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $118.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $118.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $111.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $104.44 and a 1-year high of $130.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $117.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.65.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. Research analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 69.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,960,547,000 after acquiring an additional 220,671 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after buying an additional 49,830 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,050,635,000 after buying an additional 193,681 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in 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 worth $555,513,000 after buying an additional 897,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,410,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,230,000 after buying an additional 352,335 shares during the last quarter. 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.