Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on PRU. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Argus cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $121.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $112.86 and a 200 day moving average of $104.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.52 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $14.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 13.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is presently 50.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 30.5% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,976,000 after buying an additional 4,134 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,630 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,005,000 after acquiring an additional 4,895 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.