Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Shares Down 0.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) traded down 0.5% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $296.06 and last traded at $297.11. 5,690 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 152,724 shares. The stock had previously closed at $298.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PRI shares. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Primerica in a research report on Friday, August 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Primerica presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $293.50.

Primerica Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $285.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $258.85.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.87. The firm had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.25 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total value of $903,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,942,728.94. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.85, for a total transaction of $507,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,846,081.35. This trade represents a 11.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,237,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,688,000 after purchasing an additional 17,095 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Primerica by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 696,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,807,000 after purchasing an additional 25,951 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Primerica by 30,726.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,102,000 after purchasing an additional 678,752 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 3.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 637,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $150,880,000 after purchasing an additional 21,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 4.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 121,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,176,000 after buying an additional 5,323 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.