Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $120.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price target raised by Citigroup from $104.00 to $120.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

PRU has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $116.92.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

NYSE PRU opened at $124.14 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Prudential Financial has a 12-month low of $87.95 and a 12-month high of $128.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.34.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.16 by ($0.04). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.50% and a net margin of 3.76%. The firm had revenue of $15.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. Prudential Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 69.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 13.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 163.5% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 4,306 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 2,355.0% in the first quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 151,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,798,000 after purchasing an additional 145,423 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,087,000. Crestline Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 60,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,223,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 44.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 230,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,327,000 after purchasing an additional 71,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.