Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 9,800 Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,016,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFW Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 1,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 1.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 2.7% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 0.6% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 1.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Primerica Stock Down 1.1 %

PRI opened at $211.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.06. Primerica, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $173.00 and a fifty-two week high of $256.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $244.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.71.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.27 by ($0.02). Primerica had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 27.83%. The firm had revenue of $726.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $723.64 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.49 EPS. Primerica’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 17.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James cut shares of Primerica from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Primerica from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Primerica from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Primerica from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $245.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other Primerica news, COO Gregory C. Pitts sold 3,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.43, for a total value of $922,571.37. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 3,379 shares in the company, valued at $829,307.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Primerica news, COO Gregory C. Pitts sold 3,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.43, for a total value of $922,571.37. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 3,379 shares in the company, valued at $829,307.97. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 1,215 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.00, for a total transaction of $302,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,100,283. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,708 shares of company stock worth $1,648,677. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.