Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Shares Down 2.5% – What’s Next?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) fell 2.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $280.67 and last traded at $282.02. 19,241 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 139,598 shares. The stock had previously closed at $289.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRI. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Primerica in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $309.86.

Primerica Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $283.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.50. The company has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 1.11.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released 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%. Research analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.25%.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRI. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 2.9% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,716,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 8.9% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 9,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,642,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,998,000 after buying an additional 6,185 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Primerica by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Primerica by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 662 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.