Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Upgraded at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from an underperform rating to an inline rating in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $140.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $117.00.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on PRU. Barclays raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of PRU stock opened at $127.41 on Thursday. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $93.32 and a 52-week high of $129.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.28.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.58 per share, with a total value of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at $116,071,781.42. This represents a 6.61 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $415,134,000 after purchasing an additional 305,143 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 31.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after purchasing an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.