Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Hits New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $128.75 and last traded at $128.02, with a volume of 430098 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $120.18.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. Prudential Financial’s payout ratio is 46.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PRU. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Prudential Financial from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Prudential Financial from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.85.

Prudential Financial Price Performance

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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $118.62. The company has a market cap of $44.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $19.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business posted $3.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Prudential Financial, Inc. will post 13.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of Prudential Financial stock in a transaction 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 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Caroline Feeney sold 1,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.97, for a total transaction of $133,166.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,175 shares in the company, valued at $1,220,694.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential acquired 261,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 approximately $116,071,781.42. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRU. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Prudential Financial by 165.7% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prudential Financial by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Prudential Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $247,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in Prudential Financial by 65.4% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden lifted its stake in Prudential Financial by 66.5% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 139,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,319,000 after purchasing an additional 55,500 shares during the last quarter. 56.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.