Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Cut to “Underweight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $103.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 2.58% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on PRU. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler upped 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 raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.78.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU opened at $100.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.14 and a 200 day moving average of $107.45. Prudential Financial has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $119.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $15.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In related news, Director Joseph J. Wolk purchased 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $105.32 per share, for a total transaction of $42,128.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,128. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jacques Chappuis acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $100.97 per share, with a total value of $100,970.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,970. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 1,408,389 shares of company stock valued at $35,154,439 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Global Investments lifted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 71.1% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 13,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 5,412 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Prudential Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,285,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 312.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 12,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 9,183 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $5,856,000. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 22.0% in the third quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 108,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,291,000 after purchasing an additional 19,600 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Prudential Financial

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.