Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Plans Dividend Increase – $1.35 Per Share

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 1.35 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30.

Prudential Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 4.2% annually over the last three years. Prudential Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 35.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Prudential Financial to earn $15.27 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.4%.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $111.54 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.86. The firm has a market capitalization 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 has a 12 month low of $104.44 and a 12 month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.46.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% 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.