Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Cut to $125.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Free Report) had its price target lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $129.00 to $125.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on PRU. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Prudential Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $101.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $125.46.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $111.54. 1,276,794 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,831,262. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.86. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $104.44 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The stock has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.14.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU - Get Free Report) 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 return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. Analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Prudential Financial's payout ratio is presently 69.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. The trade was a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,850,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,960,547,000 after purchasing an additional 220,671 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,059,549,000 after purchasing an additional 49,830 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,856,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,050,635,000 after purchasing an additional 193,681 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,686,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $555,513,000 after purchasing an additional 897,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $370,327,000 after purchasing an additional 47,561 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company's stock.

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.