Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from an underperform rating to an inline rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $140.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $117.00.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of PRU stock opened at $127.41 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $122.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.28. Prudential Financial has a 12-month low of $93.32 and a 12-month high of $129.13. The firm has a market cap of $45.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. This represents a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRU. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4,130.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,219,000 after buying an additional 1,267,571 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 97.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 724,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,874,000 after purchasing an additional 357,300 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after purchasing an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter worth $35,855,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.