Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Up 3.2% – Time to Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s stock price traded up 3.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $292.47 and last traded at $293.65. 17,826 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 156,141 shares. The stock had previously closed at $284.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on PRI shares. StockNews.com lowered Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. Piper Sandler decreased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Primerica has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $309.86.

Primerica Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $285.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.74. The company has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 1.12.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. 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 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the president now owns 13,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total value of $65,555.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,030. This trade represents a 53.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PRI. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Primerica by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,840 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently 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.