Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Given New $122.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $123.00 to $122.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on PRU. UBS Group raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $125.00 to $121.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $119.33.

Prudential Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:PRU opened at $115.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.13 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.62. Prudential Financial has a 1-year low of $87.95 and a 1-year high of $128.52.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 652,884 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.57 per share, for a total transaction of $18,000,011.88. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $107,065,062.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRU. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Prudential Financial by 17.9% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $743,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 16,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 3,804 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 34,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $332,000. Finally, Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in Prudential Financial by 7.6% in the second quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 7,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

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.