Cetera Investment Advisers Trims Stock Position in Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Cetera Investment Advisers cut its position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Primerica were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Primerica by 21.7% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $391,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Primerica by 224.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 9,245 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Primerica during the first quarter worth approximately $2,683,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Primerica in the fourth quarter valued at $1,981,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Stock Down 0.6%

PRI opened at $261.36 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $264.98 and a 200-day moving average of $270.87. Primerica, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.98 and a twelve month high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.18 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $796.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $790.99 million. Primerica had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is 20.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Primerica from $274.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Primerica from $293.00 to $283.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. 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, Primerica has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.20, for a total value of $655,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 36,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,541,982.40. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

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.