Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s share price was down 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $279.67 and last traded at $280.11. Approximately 29,369 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 138,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $281.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Primerica from $308.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Primerica has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $311.14.

Primerica Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $281.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.58.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released 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 net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 31.11%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.18%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total transaction 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 $9,388,140.28. This trade represents a 8.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,191,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 83,477 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 779,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,691,000 after purchasing an additional 82,921 shares during the period. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 85.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 131,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,655,000 after purchasing an additional 60,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in Primerica by 2,508.8% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 57,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,606,000 after buying an additional 55,295 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.