AGF Management Ltd. Sells 26,856 Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

AGF Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 641,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,856 shares during the quarter. Primerica accounts for about 0.9% of AGF Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. AGF Management Ltd. owned approximately 1.92% of Primerica worth $174,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PRI. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Primerica by 2.9% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 11.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 8.0% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Primerica in the third quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 106.6% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,241,000 after buying an additional 2,415 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Stock Down 1.9 %

PRI stock opened at $275.69 on Tuesday. Primerica, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $184.76 and a fifty-two week high of $307.91. The stock has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $284.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $279.28.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.25%.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $450.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PRI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $309.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other news, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total transaction of $65,555.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,030. The trade was a 53.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total transaction of $565,800.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 13,301 shares in the company, valued at $3,762,852.90. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by 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.