Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Shares Up 1.2% – Time to Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PRI. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Primerica in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Primerica currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $309.86.

Primerica Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $286.37 and a 200-day moving average of $281.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 1.12.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 31.11%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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 is 30.25%.

Insider Transactions at Primerica

In other Primerica news, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total transaction of $65,555.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,030. This represents a 53.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total transaction of $845,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,388,140.28. This trade represents a 8.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575 in the last three months. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Primerica during the 4th quarter valued at $34,191,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 254.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 116,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,558,000 after buying an additional 83,477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Primerica by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 779,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,691,000 after buying an additional 82,921 shares during the period. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Primerica by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 131,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,655,000 after acquiring an additional 60,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in Primerica by 2,508.8% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 57,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,606,000 after acquiring an additional 55,295 shares during the period. 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.