Ellsworth Advisors LLC Invests $2.06 Million in Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,064,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PRI. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $364,932,000 after buying an additional 23,454 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Primerica by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 437,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $119,847,000 after acquiring an additional 115,754 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Primerica by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 318,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,206,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $89,907,000 after purchasing an additional 199,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Primerica by 21.7% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 171,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,845,000 after purchasing an additional 30,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of Primerica from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Primerica in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $292.00 target price on Primerica in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Primerica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $292.00 to $318.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. 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, Primerica has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $300.00.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRI opened at $259.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 0.90. Primerica, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.98 and a 1-year high of $298.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $258.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $264.64.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.52 by $0.81. The business had revenue of $838.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $817.81 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.75% and a net margin of 22.36%.The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 19.12%.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 19th that allows the company to repurchase $475.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.30, for a total transaction of $510,600.00. Following the sale, the president owned 7,301 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,945.30. The trade was a 21.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $649,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 33,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,800,057.80. This represents a 6.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,200 shares of company stock worth $1,338,225. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Profile

Primerica, Inc is a financial services company that focuses on delivering term life insurance and investment products to middle-income households in the United States and Canada. The firm operates a network of independent, licensed representatives who provide personalized guidance on coverage needs, retirement planning, and wealth accumulation. Primerica’s core mission is to help clients obtain affordable life insurance protection while also offering a suite of savings and investment solutions designed for long-term financial security.

In addition to term life insurance, Primerica offers a range of financial products and services that include mutual funds, annuities, auto and home insurance through partner carriers, and personal lending solutions such as secured and unsecured loans.