Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Time to Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s share price traded up 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $296.00 and last traded at $293.92. 18,835 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 156,412 shares. The stock had previously closed at $290.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PRI. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $309.86.

Primerica Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $286.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.35.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 31.11%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid 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 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total value of $565,800.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 13,301 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,388,140.28. This trade represents a 8.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Primerica during the fourth quarter worth $34,191,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 increased its position in Primerica by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 779,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,691,000 after purchasing an additional 82,921 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its stake in Primerica by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 131,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,655,000 after purchasing an additional 60,565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Primerica by 2,508.8% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 57,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,606,000 after purchasing an additional 55,295 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Primerica

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.