Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 685 Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 52.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Primerica were worth $543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Primerica during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Primerica by 129.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 116.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Primerica by 65.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Primerica by 182.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Price Performance

PRI stock opened at $254.05 on Friday. Primerica, Inc. has a 12 month low of $184.76 and a 12 month high of $307.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $276.24 and its 200 day moving average is $281.58. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 an increase from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,030. This represents a 53.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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 90 days, insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $309.14.

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.