Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Down 0.9% on Insider Selling

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s share price dropped 0.9% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $280.75 and last traded at $280.53. Approximately 24,821 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 139,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $283.13.

Specifically, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total value of $65,555.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,030. This trade represents a 53.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PRI. 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. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. 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 research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Primerica presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $309.86.

Primerica Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $283.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.76.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its 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 return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Primerica during the fourth quarter worth about $34,191,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Primerica by 254.5% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 116,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,558,000 after purchasing an additional 83,477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 11.9% in the 4th 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 boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 131,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,655,000 after buying an additional 60,565 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 2,508.8% during the fourth 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 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.