Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Primerica (NYSE:PRI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

PRI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Primerica from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Primerica in a research report on Friday, August 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Primerica from $239.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Primerica from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.67.

Primerica Price Performance

PRI stock opened at $274.89 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 1.08. Primerica has a 12 month low of $184.76 and a 12 month high of $284.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $267.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.68.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $4.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $803.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $748.88 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 27.81% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Primerica will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Primerica’s payout ratio is currently 28.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.55, for a total transaction of $757,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,446,071.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.11, for a total transaction of $391,665.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 10,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,678,727.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.55, for a total transaction of $757,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,446,071.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,500 shares of company stock worth $1,657,015. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Primerica in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primerica during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 85.9% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Primerica by 45.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Primerica during the second quarter worth about $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.