Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on PRU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Argus downgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Prudential Financial from $101.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Prudential Financial from $102.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $121.95 on Friday. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $91.89 and a 12 month high of $127.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $113.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.78.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The financial services provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.56. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 16.68% and a net margin of 6.51%.The business had revenue of $14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 13.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential sold 214,746 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.75, for a total value of $5,314,963.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,973,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,348,010.75. The trade was a 2.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after acquiring an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.8% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 15.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 4,895 shares during the period. 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.