Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock Price

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $111.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.37% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PRU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Evercore cut their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

PRU opened at $98.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $108.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.19. Prudential Financial has a 1 year low of $90.38 and a 1 year high of $119.76. The stock has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $15.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.48 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total value of $762,215.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,618,974.44. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas D. Stoddard bought 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $102.97 per share, for a total transaction of $25,742.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,742.50. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRU. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Prudential Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its position in Prudential Financial by 93.4% in the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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.