Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $129.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $119.00 to $129.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on PRU. Evercore ISI raised Prudential Financial from an "underperform" rating to an "inline" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $127.17.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE PRU traded down $0.58 during trading on Monday, reaching $118.56. 1,093,664 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,002,350. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $100.60 and a fifty-two week high of $130.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $123.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.69.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 13.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 176.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,041,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $123,804,000 after purchasing an additional 665,180 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 490 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,733 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,830,000 after buying an additional 15,695 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 22,453 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,703,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 122,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,301,000 after buying an additional 30,437 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.