Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $118.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $113.00 to $118.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Prudential Financial from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Prudential Financial from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of PRU opened at $111.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $117.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.65. The stock has a market cap of $39.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $104.44 and a 12 month high of $130.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.86% and a net margin of 4.01%. Equities analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 14.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 537,249 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was bought 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 owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GTS Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 116.9% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 3,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 23,841 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 4,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. JT Stratford LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,410,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,230,000 after buying an additional 352,335 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.