Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) Shares Acquired by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 51.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,275 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.20% of Primerica worth $17,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in shares of Primerica by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 12,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,287,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Primerica by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 36,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,778,000 after purchasing an additional 6,682 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Primerica by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 30,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Primerica by 129.6% in the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 6,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 3,490 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PRI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Primerica presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $309.14.

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of PRI opened at $266.24 on Thursday. Primerica, Inc. has a 12 month low of $217.56 and a 12 month high of $307.91. The stock has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $270.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.24.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $5.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $803.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $783.54 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. Primerica’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is a positive change from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total value of $565,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 13,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total transaction of $845,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,388,140.28. This trade represents a 8.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575 in the last quarter. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Primerica Company 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.