Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $101.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective lifted by Mizuho from $96.00 to $101.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Friday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $95.00 to $93.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $99.92.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $100.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.57. The company has a market cap of $34.96 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.86. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $91.89 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 13.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas D. Stoddard purchased 250 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $102.97 per share, with a total value of $25,742.50. Following the purchase, the director owned 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,742.50. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joseph J. Wolk purchased 400 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $105.32 per share, with a total value of $42,128.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,128. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,234,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,381,000 after purchasing an additional 210,959 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,533,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,904,000 after purchasing an additional 26,414 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,649,202 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $750,562,000 after purchasing an additional 420,081 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 4.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,758,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,089,000 after purchasing an additional 166,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 2.4% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,701,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,214,000 after purchasing an additional 62,366 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.