Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Increases Dividend to $1.35 Per Share

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of 1.35 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30.

Prudential Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 4.2% annually over the last three years. Prudential Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 34.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Prudential Financial to earn $14.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.0%.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU traded down $4.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $113.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,990,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,172. The stock has a market cap of $40.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $102.67 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $120.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.46.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on PRU shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.77.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.