Insider Buying: Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) EVP Buys 1,000 Shares of Stock

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) EVP Jacques Chappuis bought 1,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $100.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,970.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $100,970. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of Prudential Financial stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $102.24. 1,883,273 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,277,213. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $119.76. The company has a market cap of $35.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.43. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $14.52 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 prior year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 54.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Prudential Financial in the second quarter valued at about $122,778,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,502,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,566,432,000 after acquiring an additional 600,482 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 567,571 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake 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 acquired a new position in Prudential Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,552,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PRU shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.44.

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.