Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) PT Raised to $106.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $100.00 to $106.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 3.36% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on PRU. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $118.00 price target (down from $119.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James cut Prudential Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Prudential Financial from a “c+” rating to an “a-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.67.

Prudential Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Prudential Financial stock opened at $109.69 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.57. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $77.22 and a 52-week high of $118.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $39.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.37.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.67 by ($0.09). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 14.52% and a net margin of 4.89%. The company had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Robert Axel sold 6,436 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $719,930.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,901 shares in the company, valued at $883,805.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 7,222 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.39, for a total value of $782,792.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,642,656.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,255 shares of company stock valued at $3,215,664. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC bought a new position in Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth $220,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 44.1% in the 1st quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 18,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,122,000 after purchasing an additional 5,533 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 33,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,902,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.