Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Issues Earnings Results

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.43 by ($0.04), reports. Prudential Financial had a net margin of 4.86% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The company had revenue of $13.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.78 billion.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRU opened at $110.26 on Friday. Prudential Financial has a fifty-two week low of $87.95 and a fifty-two week high of $128.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.34.

Prudential Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $143.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Prudential Financial from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 652,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at $107,065,062.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Timothy L. Schmidt sold 5,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.58, for a total transaction of $604,933.62. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,426,472.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 652,884 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.57 per share, with a total value of $18,000,011.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,883,390 shares in the company, valued at $107,065,062.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prudential Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 16,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,942,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Nottingham Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Prudential Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $319,000. Foster & Motley Inc. increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 49,112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,755,000 after acquiring an additional 2,265 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Prudential Financial by 55.4% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 209,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,539,000 after acquiring an additional 74,665 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial Company Profile

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.