Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Director Joseph Wolk Buys 400 Shares of Stock

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) Director Joseph Wolk bought 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $105.32 per share, with a total value of $42,128.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,128. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of PRU stock opened at $104.12 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $36.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s fifty day moving average is $112.02 and its 200 day moving average is $107.36. Prudential Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $119.76.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $15.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 earned $2.96 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 14.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 54.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRU. UBS Group raised their price objective on Prudential Financial from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Evercore dropped their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.11.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Prudential Financial by 3.7% in 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 during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 30.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,976,000 after buying an additional 4,134 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 17.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in Prudential Financial by 56.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 24,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,682,000 after acquiring an additional 8,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC lifted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 9.8% in the second quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 6,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.