Prudential (NYSE:PUK) PT Lowered to GBX 1,700 at Barclays

Prudential (NYSE:PUK – Get Rating) had its price target trimmed by Barclays from GBX 1,750 ($21.33) to GBX 1,700 ($20.72) in a report published on Thursday, The Fly reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Prudential from GBX 1,400 ($17.06) to GBX 1,450 ($17.67) in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Prudential in a research note on Thursday. They set a sell rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Prudential from GBX 1,500 ($18.28) to GBX 1,750 ($21.33) in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. BNP Paribas downgraded Prudential from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on Prudential in a research note on Monday, December 19th. They set an outperform rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $1,530.83.

Prudential Trading Down 4.5 %

PUK opened at $24.47 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.97 and a 200-day moving average of $25.67. Prudential has a 52-week low of $18.20 and a 52-week high of $34.37.

Prudential Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be issued a $0.2608 dividend. This is a boost from Prudential’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 23rd. This represents a yield of 1.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prudential

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Prudential by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Prudential by 53.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Prudential by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prudential by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Prudential by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

About Prudential

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Prudential Plc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of insurance and financial services. It operates through the Asia and U.S. geographical segments. The Asia segment consists of health and protection, other life insurance, mutual funds, selected personal lines property and casualty insurance, group insurance, and institutional fund management.