Evercore ISI Upgrades Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) to “Inline”

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) from an underperform rating to an inline rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $140.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $117.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on PRU. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Prudential Financial from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Prudential Financial stock opened at $127.41 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.33. Prudential Financial has a 12 month low of $93.32 and a 12 month high of $129.13. The company has a market cap of $45.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.01. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 13.33 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total value of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,694.75. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 261,059 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at $116,071,781.42. The trade was a 6.61 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRU. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,007,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,059,549,000 after acquiring an additional 49,830 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,662,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,872,000 after purchasing an additional 341,787 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 9.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,542,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $415,134,000 after purchasing an additional 305,143 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 1.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,058,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $370,327,000 after purchasing an additional 47,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,444,288 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,903,000 after buying an additional 344,254 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through PGIM, Retirement Strategies, Group Insurance, Individual Life, and International Businesses segments.