Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $275.20.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Primerica from $239.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Primerica from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Friday, August 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 price target on the stock.

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of PRI opened at $258.60 on Wednesday. Primerica has a 1-year low of $184.76 and a 1-year high of $265.27. The stock has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $254.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.92.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.24. Primerica had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 27.81%. The firm had revenue of $803.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $748.88 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.99 earnings per share. Primerica’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Primerica will post 17.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is an increase from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.91%.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.55, for a total transaction of $757,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,446,071.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.55, for a total value of $757,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,446,071.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.85, for a total transaction of $507,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,846,081.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,657,015. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 30,726.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,102,000 after buying an additional 678,752 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Primerica during the 4th quarter worth about $31,194,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Primerica by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 99,758 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,601,000 after buying an additional 39,761 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Primerica by 2,986.9% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 32,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,595,000 after buying an additional 31,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primerica in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.