Mizuho Cuts Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $113.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price target decreased by Mizuho from $126.00 to $113.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PRU. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.11.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $104.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $112.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.36. The company has a market capitalization of $36.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.97. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $90.38 and a 12 month high of $119.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $15.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.32% and a net margin of 6.20%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 6,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.28, for a total transaction of $762,215.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 22,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,618,974.44. This represents a 22.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 1,406,739 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,709,624 shares in the company, valued at $191,738,348.88. This trade represents a 22.32% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 1,408,139 shares of company stock valued at $35,128,697 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $140,530,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,566,432,000 after buying an additional 600,482 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Prudential Financial by 49.2% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,192,000 after buying an additional 567,571 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 183.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 804,316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,440,000 after acquiring an additional 520,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $40,552,000. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.