Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading 0.3% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) shares rose 0.3% on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $308.00 to $313.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Primerica traded as high as $285.19 and last traded at $284.94. Approximately 15,408 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 137,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $284.14.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PRI. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Primerica in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.43.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Primerica by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 696,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,807,000 after purchasing an additional 25,951 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Primerica by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,635 shares during the last quarter. Sylvest Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at about $543,000. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its position in Primerica by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Primerica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,710,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Primerica Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $282.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.52.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is 27.50%.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Primerica Company Profile

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.