Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Primerica (NYSE:PRI) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PRI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Primerica from $293.00 to $283.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Primerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $292.00 to $318.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Piper Sandler set a $292.00 target price on shares of Primerica and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Primerica from $306.00 to $301.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.80.

Primerica Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:PRI opened at $254.69 on Monday. Primerica has a 1 year low of $230.98 and a 1 year high of $298.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $260.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.40. The stock has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.12%.

Primerica declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 19th that allows the company to buyback $475.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 5.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 6.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.30, for a total value of $510,600.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 7,301 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,945.30. This trade represents a 21.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,200 shares of company stock valued at $1,338,225. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primerica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Primerica by 1.8% during the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,333,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,932,000 after acquiring an additional 23,454 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Primerica by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 613,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $170,248,000 after acquiring an additional 2,525 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 492,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,597,000 after purchasing an additional 54,158 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 490,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,682,000 after purchasing an additional 13,402 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 347,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $96,089,000 after purchasing an additional 70,510 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.