Jefferies Financial Group Raises Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Price Target to $236.00

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) had its price target lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $235.00 to $236.00 in a research report report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Primerica from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Primerica from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Primerica from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $255.25.

Primerica Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of PRI stock opened at $236.58 on Friday. Primerica has a 1 year low of $184.76 and a 1 year high of $256.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $225.24 and its 200-day moving average is $229.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 1.08.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.12 by ($0.21). Primerica had a return on equity of 27.35% and a net margin of 20.44%. The company had revenue of $742.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.49 earnings per share. Primerica’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Primerica will post 17.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 20th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total value of $668,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,322 shares in the company, valued at $10,764,208.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.44, for a total transaction of $341,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 11,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,674,466.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.76, for a total transaction of $668,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,764,208.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRI. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Primerica by 5.7% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 10,656 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,067,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Primerica by 48.6% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 61,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,938,000 after purchasing an additional 20,137 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Primerica by 40.8% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Primerica by 28.1% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 5,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Primerica by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 15,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,091,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 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.