Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Stock Price

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price objective cut by Piper Sandler from $127.00 to $124.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

PRU has been the topic of several other reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $119.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.42.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $118.47 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $122.23 and a 200-day moving average of $120.66. The firm has a market cap of $42.17 billion, a PE ratio of 10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. Prudential Financial has a twelve month low of $100.60 and a twelve month high of $130.55.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 19th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.92 per share, with a total value of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRU. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,059,549,000 after acquiring an additional 49,830 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Prudential Financial by 4.1% during 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 period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $415,134,000 after purchasing an additional 305,143 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 47,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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.