Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Shares Down 0.7% – What’s Next?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s stock price dropped 0.7% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $276.96 and last traded at $279.83. Approximately 13,453 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 139,928 shares. The stock had previously closed at $281.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PRI shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Primerica in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $309.86.

Primerica Trading Up 0.3 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $283.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.67. The company has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55 and a beta of 1.11.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted 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, research analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Primerica’s payout ratio is currently 30.25%.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $450.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Primerica

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total value of $845,220.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,388,140.28. The trade was a 8.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 2.9% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,716,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Primerica by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,642,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Primerica by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,998,000 after purchasing an additional 6,185 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Primerica by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. 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.