Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Down 4.7% – Here’s What Happened

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) shares traded down 4.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $276.82 and last traded at $276.96. 53,676 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 165,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $290.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $309.86.

Primerica Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $284.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $282.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Primerica’s payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total value of $845,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,388,140.28. This trade represents a 8.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575 in the last quarter. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 696,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,807,000 after acquiring an additional 25,951 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Primerica by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,635 shares during the period. Sylvest Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primerica during the 4th quarter worth approximately $543,000. Oak Thistle LLC grew its position in shares of Primerica by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Primerica by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 120,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,573,000 after buying an additional 11,612 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.