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

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on PRU. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Argus lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $109.31.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $113.70 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.22. Prudential Financial has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $127.72. The firm has a market cap of $39.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.72%.

Insider Transactions at Prudential Financial

In related 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 shares were sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total transaction of $5,314,963.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $197,348,010.75. This represents a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Kappler sold 7,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.01, for a total transaction of $956,576.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,801,019.07. This trade represents a 34.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,507,481,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $209,055,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $208,957,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the second quarter worth about $157,752,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 95.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,556,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,769,000 after buying an additional 1,247,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

Prudential Financial, Inc (NYSE: PRU) is a global financial services company that provides insurance, retirement, investment management and related financial products. Founded in 1875 and headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, the company serves individual, institutional and workplace customers through businesses in the United States and selected international markets.

In the United States, Prudential offers life insurance, annuities, retirement plans and group insurance products, including coverage for employees and their families.