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

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,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 is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30.

Prudential Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.2% per year over the last three years. Prudential Financial has a payout ratio of 34.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 %

Shares of PRU stock traded down $4.05 on Wednesday, reaching $113.90. 3,049,860 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,719,714. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.31. Prudential Financial has a 52 week low of $102.67 and a 52 week high of $130.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.46.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 15.30%. As a group, analysts forecast that Prudential Financial will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential purchased 537,249 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $27.92 per share, for a total transaction of $14,999,992.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 4,780,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $133,465,780.56. This represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRU has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Prudential Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Prudential Financial from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Prudential Financial from $128.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Prudential Financial from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Prudential Financial from an “underperform” rating to an “inline” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.