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

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) was upgraded by Evercore ISI from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $140.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $117.00. Evercore ISI’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.88% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PRU. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Prudential Financial from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.69.

Prudential Financial Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $127.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $121.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.11. Prudential Financial has a 52-week low of $93.32 and a 52-week high of $129.13.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial will post 13.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ann M. Kappler sold 2,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.43, for a total value of $322,027.77. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,648,705.05. The trade was a 16.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.58 per share, for a total transaction of $7,200,007.22. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 4,208,549 shares in the company, valued at $116,071,781.42. This trade represents a 6.61 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 230,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,327,000 after buying an additional 71,274 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial in the second quarter worth $156,000. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.0% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 64,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,533,000 after buying an additional 31,807 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 12.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 57,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,791,000 after buying an additional 6,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Prudential Financial by 49.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 80,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,409,000 after acquiring an additional 26,520 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.