Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) to Issue Dividend Increase – $1.35 Per Share

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 4th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 1.35 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30.

Prudential Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 4.2% annually over the last three years. Prudential Financial has a payout ratio of 34.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Prudential Financial to earn $14.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.0%.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 3.4 %

PRU stock traded down $4.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $113.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,990,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,172. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.46. Prudential Financial has a twelve month low of $102.67 and a twelve month high of $130.55. The firm has a market cap of $40.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.40). Prudential Financial had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 6.03%. As a group, research analysts expect that Prudential Financial will post 13.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Prudential Financial

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $133,465,780.56. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Prudential Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $135.00 to $129.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.77.

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.