Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) to Equal Weight

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $113.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.20% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. 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 note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.42.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $109.50 on Monday. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $87.95 and a fifty-two week high of $128.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $39.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 652,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,292,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,386,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,154,865 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,000,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $414,926,000 after buying an additional 388,363 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Prudential Financial by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,346,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,367,000 after buying an additional 72,696 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in Prudential Financial by 2.8% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,237,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $145,027,000 after acquiring an additional 34,160 shares during the period. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,107,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,829,000 after acquiring an additional 302,164 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.