Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) shares were up 0.4% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $288.54 and last traded at $289.20. Approximately 21,297 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 164,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $288.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PRI. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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 Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $309.86.

Primerica Stock Up 1.2 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $282.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21 and a beta of 1.12.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were 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 yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is currently 30.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Primerica news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Primerica in the fourth quarter valued at $2,921,000. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Primerica by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,288,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,717,000 after buying an additional 21,208 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Primerica during the 4th quarter worth about $368,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 142,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,726,000 after acquiring an additional 11,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.