Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Price Target Raised to $308.00 at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Primerica's target price from $292.00 to $308.00, indicating an expected potential upside of 18.31% from its previous close.
• Primerica reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $5.46, exceeding the consensus estimate of $5.18, with a slight year-over-year revenue increase of 0.3%.
• CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of Primerica stock, representing a 6.43% decrease in his ownership, amid significant institutional investor activity in the company's shares.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $292.00 to $308.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 18.31% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on PRI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Primerica from $293.00 to $283.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.29.

Primerica Stock Performance

PRI stock traded down $1.34 during trading on Monday, hitting $260.33. The stock had a trading volume of 7,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,676. The company's 50 day moving average price is $264.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.87. Primerica has a 1-year low of $230.98 and a 1-year high of $307.91. The stock has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 0.99.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.18 by $0.28. Primerica had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 21.48%. The company had revenue of $796.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $790.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Primerica will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.20, for a total transaction of $655,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 36,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,541,982.40. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Primerica by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,493,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $994,048,000 after buying an additional 37,994 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,333,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $364,932,000 after purchasing an additional 23,454 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 611,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $173,963,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primerica in the 1st quarter valued at $156,019,000. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 490,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $139,682,000 after purchasing an additional 13,402 shares during the period. 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.

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