Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 612,390 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 343% from the previous session’s volume of 138,261 shares.The stock last traded at $187.11 and had previously closed at $211.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PRI shares. Raymond James cut shares of Primerica from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Primerica from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Primerica from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $245.50.

Primerica Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $244.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.71. The company has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 1.06.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.27 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $726.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $723.64 million. Primerica had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 27.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 17.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.89%.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other Primerica news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total transaction of $365,115.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 13,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,227,373.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total value of $365,115.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 13,259 shares in the company, valued at $3,227,373.19. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 1,215 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.00, for a total value of $302,535.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,100,283. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,708 shares of company stock worth $1,648,677 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRI. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Primerica by 44.1% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 84,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,479,000 after purchasing an additional 25,981 shares during the last quarter. James Investment Research Inc. bought a new stake in Primerica during the third quarter worth $1,054,000. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,098,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 2,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.