Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Shares Up 0.3% – What’s Next?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $281.16 and last traded at $281.74. Approximately 24,789 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 139,694 shares. The stock had previously closed at $281.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PRI. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $309.86.

Primerica Stock Down 1.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $279.17.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. 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. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.25%.

Primerica announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total transaction 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 $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Primerica by 3.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 696,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,807,000 after acquiring an additional 25,951 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Primerica by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,635 shares during the period. Sylvest Advisors LLC bought a new position in Primerica during the 4th quarter worth about $543,000. Oak Thistle LLC raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 64.9% in the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 120,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,573,000 after purchasing an additional 11,612 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.