Insider Selling: Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) COO Sells 3,759 Shares of Stock

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) COO Gregory C. Pitts sold 3,759 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.43, for a total transaction of $922,571.37. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $829,307.97. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of Primerica stock traded down $0.77 during trading on Monday, hitting $246.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 109,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 124,635. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.49. The company has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 1.06. Primerica, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.68 and a 52 week high of $254.40.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.27 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $726.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $723.64 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 27.83% and a net margin of 20.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 16th that permits the company to buyback $425.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. This is a positive change from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 20th. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Primerica from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Primerica from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Primerica from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Primerica from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $243.20.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Primerica by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 90.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.