Wall Street Zen Downgrades Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) to Hold

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on PRU. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus cut shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Prudential Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $92.00 target price (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $121.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $41.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.69. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $91.89 and a 1-year high of $127.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.The firm had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares in the company, valued at $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PRU. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,507,481,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Prudential Financial by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,234,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,381,000 after purchasing an additional 210,959 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,904,000 after purchasing an additional 26,414 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $750,562,000 after purchasing an additional 420,081 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,089,000 after purchasing an additional 166,641 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Prudential Financial

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.