Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Price Target Cut to $306.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $308.00 to $306.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on PRI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Primerica in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Primerica from $293.00 to $283.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Primerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $292.00 to $318.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.86.

Primerica Stock Performance

NYSE PRI opened at $273.15 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $269.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.73. Primerica has a one year low of $230.98 and a one year high of $307.91. The company has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.97.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.18 by $0.28. Primerica had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 21.48%.The firm had revenue of $796.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $790.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.71 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Primerica will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.20, for a total value of $655,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 36,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,541,982.40. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Primerica during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Primerica during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 1,714.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 108.5% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 2,300.0% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Primerica

Primerica, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services to middle-income households in the United States and Canada. The company operates in four segments: Term Life Insurance; Investment and Savings Products; Senior Health; and Corporate and Other Distributed Products.