American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Position in Primerica, Inc. $PRI

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 16.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,263 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.34% of Primerica worth $30,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Primerica in the 1st quarter valued at about $156,019,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 171.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 315,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,907,000 after purchasing an additional 199,715 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,425,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,493,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $994,048,000 after purchasing an additional 37,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 276,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,594,000 after purchasing an additional 36,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Stock Performance

Primerica stock opened at $257.95 on Monday. Primerica, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.98 and a 1 year high of $306.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $264.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.51. The company has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.90.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported $6.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.52 by $0.81. Primerica had a net margin of 22.36% and a return on equity of 31.75%. The company had revenue of $838.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $817.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.83 earnings per share. Primerica’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 19th that allows the company to buyback $475.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.12%.

Insider Transactions at Primerica

In other Primerica news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.30, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 7,301 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,945.30. This represents a 21.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.65, for a total value of $649,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 33,892 shares in the company, valued at $8,800,057.80. This represents a 6.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Primerica in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research upgraded Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. 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. Piper Sandler set a $292.00 price target on shares of Primerica and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Primerica from $306.00 to $301.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.80.

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.