Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Down 0.9% After Insider Selling

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) dropped 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $280.75 and last traded at $280.53. Approximately 24,821 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 139,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $283.13.

Specifically, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total value of $565,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 13,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,030. This trade represents a 53.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $309.86.

Primerica Trading Down 0.9 %

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $283.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40 and a beta of 1.11.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

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

Primerica declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primerica

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Primerica during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,191,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 254.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 83,477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 60,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 2,508.8% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 57,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,606,000 after buying an additional 55,295 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.