Morgan Stanley Cuts Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $111.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its target price reduced by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $111.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.59% from the stock’s previous close.

PRU has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Prudential Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Evercore lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE PRU traded down $2.23 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.72. The company had a trading volume of 909,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,288,332. The company has a market cap of $34.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $108.95 and its 200-day moving average is $107.30. Prudential Financial has a one year low of $90.38 and a one year high of $119.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The firm had revenue of $15.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 1,406,739 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.87 per share, with a total value of $34,985,598.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,709,624 shares in the company, valued at $191,738,348.88. The trade was a 22.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jacques Chappuis purchased 1,000 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $100.97 per share, with a total value of $100,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,970. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential Financial

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.