Petrus Trust Company LTA Invests $1.35 Million in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Petrus Trust Company LTA purchased a new position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,351,000. Primerica makes up 0.1% of Petrus Trust Company LTA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PRI. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Primerica by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,237,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,688,000 after acquiring an additional 17,095 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Primerica by 30,726.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,102,000 after purchasing an additional 678,752 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Primerica by 3.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 637,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,880,000 after purchasing an additional 21,836 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 121,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,176,000 after buying an additional 5,323 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Primerica by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 108,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,742,000 after buying an additional 8,641 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PRI. Piper Sandler began coverage on Primerica in a research note on Friday, August 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $293.50.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of PRI opened at $298.57 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $284.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.31. Primerica, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.76 and a 1 year high of $307.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81 and a beta of 1.09.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.87. The company had revenue of $774.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.25 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. Primerica’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $450.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at $10,942,728.94. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.85, for a total value of $507,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,846,081.35. The trade was a 11.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Primerica 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.