Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading 1.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) shares shot up 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $296.00 and last traded at $293.92. 18,835 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 156,412 shares. The stock had previously closed at $290.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on PRI. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $309.86.

Primerica Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $286.37 and its 200-day moving average is $281.23.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. On average, research analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total value of $65,555.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,030. The trade was a 53.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total value of $565,800.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 13,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Primerica by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,288,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,717,000 after purchasing an additional 21,208 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 82,921 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Primerica by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 347,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,194,000 after buying an additional 46,935 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Primerica by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 230,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,626,000 after buying an additional 2,905 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Primerica by 0.9% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.