Morgan Stanley Cuts Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Price Target to $243.00

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $245.00 to $243.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Primerica from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Primerica has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $253.50.

Primerica Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE PRI opened at $242.48 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $228.62 and its 200-day moving average is $230.91. The stock has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 1.09. Primerica has a twelve month low of $184.76 and a twelve month high of $256.56.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $3.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.12 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $742.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $740.57 million. Primerica had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 27.35%. The company’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Primerica will post 17.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 21st were paid 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 1.24%. Primerica’s payout ratio is currently 18.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica 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 approximately $10,764,208.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica 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 approximately $10,764,208.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.44, for a total transaction of $341,160.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 11,759 shares in the company, valued at $2,674,466.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,345 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Primerica during the 4th quarter worth about $339,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Primerica during the 4th quarter worth about $2,016,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Running Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 47,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,120,000 after buying an additional 3,571 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently 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.