State of Michigan Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Primerica were worth $2,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Primerica in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Primerica by 56.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Primerica by 116.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Primerica by 65.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Primerica currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $309.86.

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRI opened at $280.74 on Friday. Primerica, Inc. has a one year low of $184.76 and a one year high of $307.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $283.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42 and a beta of 1.12.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is a positive change from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,388,140.28. The trade was a 8.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.