Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Cut to $126.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $128.00 to $126.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on PRU. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $136.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.08.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of PRU opened at $112.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $112.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.87. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $104.45 and a one year high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.28.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 52,595 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $28.52 per share, for a total transaction of $1,500,009.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 139,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,429.24. The trade was a 60.18 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrew F. Sullivan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.98, for a total value of $635,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,869,090.56. The trade was a 18.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRU. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $115,878,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $555,513,000 after acquiring an additional 897,916 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 176.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,804,000 after acquiring an additional 665,180 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,303,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 322.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 711,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,287,000 after purchasing an additional 542,964 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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.