Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Price Target Raised to $313.00 at Morgan Stanley

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $308.00 to $313.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $310.43.

Primerica Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:PRI traded down $2.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $281.29. 134,291 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 125,765. The stock's 50-day moving average is $282.17 and its 200-day moving average is $276.08. The firm has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 1.11. Primerica has a twelve month low of $184.76 and a twelve month high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts anticipate that Primerica will post 19.79 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.50%.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $450.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Man Group plc boosted its stake in Primerica by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 73,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,847,000 after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Primerica in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,202,000. NDVR Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. NDVR Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Finally, LRT Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,746,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

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.