Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target Raised to $129.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $117.00 to $129.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus lowered shares of Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $92.00 price target (down from $106.00) on shares of Prudential Financial in a report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Prudential Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $105.46.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $117.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Prudential Financial has a 1 year low of $91.89 and a 1 year high of $120.58. The company has a market cap of $40.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $108.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.25.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The financial services provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.09 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.10 billion. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 5.83% and a return on equity of 16.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is currently 57.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.7% in the fourth 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 raised its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 4,134 shares during the period. 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 valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 56,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,092,000 after buying an additional 11,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 37,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,005,000 after buying an additional 4,895 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.