UBS Group Cuts Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) Price Target to $98.00

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) had its price target reduced by UBS Group from $105.00 to $98.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Prudential Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Prudential Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $126.00 to $113.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Prudential Financial from $120.00 to $111.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Prudential Financial from $133.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Prudential Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $109.78.

Prudential Financial Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:PRU opened at $96.96 on Thursday. Prudential Financial has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $119.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.16 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.09.

Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The financial services provider reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by ($0.07). Prudential Financial had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 16.32%. The company had revenue of $14.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Prudential Financial will post 14.36 EPS for the current year.

Prudential Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Prudential Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Prudential Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prudential Financial news, EVP Jacques Chappuis bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $100.97 per share, with a total value of $100,970.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,970. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Insurance Co Of Ame Prudential bought 1,406,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.87 per share, for a total transaction of $34,985,598.93. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 7,709,624 shares in the company, valued at $191,738,348.88. This represents a 22.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders bought 1,408,389 shares of company stock worth $35,154,439 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prudential Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 98.3% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prudential Financial in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its stake in shares of Prudential Financial by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.83% of the company’s stock.

Prudential Financial News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Prudential Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Prudential is highlighted as a high-dividend blue-chip (roughly ~5.8% yield in recent coverage), which supports income-focused demand and can stabilize the share price for long-term investors. 5 Blue-Chip Stocks with Highest Dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect a modest, single-digit increase in profits for Prudential’s upcoming Q1 FY2026 results; that reduces the risk of a large miss but also limits upside surprise potential. Quarterly Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Wolfe Research maintains a Hold on PRU, signaling no near-term conviction to add or cut from a major research house. Wolfe Research Remains a Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Japan’s Financial Services Agency has intensified an inspection of Prudential’s Japanese unit over alleged employee and sales misconduct — a direct hit to a key international profit engine that raises potential compliance costs, fines, and reputational risk. Japan Scrutiny Tests Prudential Financial’s Governance And Japan Profit Engine
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple brokerages trimmed price targets and adjusted ratings this week (UBS to $98/neutral, Keefe Bruyette & Woods to $104/market perform, Wells Fargo to $95/underweight), signaling reduced analyst confidence and adding near-term selling pressure. UBS price target cut Keefe/Benzinga Wells/TickerReport
• Negative Sentiment: An institutional investor (Bfsg LLC) reduced its PRU stake by ~25.5% in the latest filing, which can signal reallocation or loss of confidence and may add to downward pressure. Bfsg LLC Decreases Holdings

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is a diversified financial services company with roots dating to 1875. The firm provides a range of insurance, retirement and investment products aimed at helping individual and institutional clients manage risk, accumulate and protect wealth, and plan for retirement. Prudential’s long history in life insurance and related financial services has positioned it as a major participant in the U.S. insurance market and a provider of services to a broad client base.

Prudential’s core business activities include individual life insurance, annuities, retirement solutions and group insurance products for employers.