Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Up 0.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) was up 0.3% during mid-day trading 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 mid-day 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 analysts have also recently issued reports on PRI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Primerica currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.43.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primerica

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 779,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,691,000 after buying an additional 82,921 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 347,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,194,000 after buying an additional 46,935 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 230,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,626,000 after buying an additional 2,905 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 159,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,366,000 after buying an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 85.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 131,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,655,000 after buying an additional 60,565 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Primerica Trading Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $282.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $275.52.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.25%.

Primerica declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $450.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often 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.