Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $141.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $143.00 to $141.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on PRU. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $115.08.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRU opened at $117.19 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $116.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.96. The company has a market cap of $42.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Prudential Financial has a twelve month low of $86.69 and a twelve month high of $121.39.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The business had revenue of $15.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. Prudential Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.41 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.44%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,472.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total value of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,426,472.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Choreo LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 163.5% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 4,306 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $1,087,000. Crestline Management LP boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 60,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,223,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $761,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 1,635.0% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 87,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,237,000 after purchasing an additional 82,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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.