Parkwood LLC Cuts Stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Parkwood LLC lessened its stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 21.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,229 shares during the quarter. Primerica accounts for approximately 1.2% of Parkwood LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Parkwood LLC’s holdings in Primerica were worth $10,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PRI. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Primerica by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,428,000 after acquiring an additional 10,635 shares during the last quarter. Sylvest Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica during the fourth quarter valued at about $543,000. Oak Thistle LLC increased its holdings in shares of Primerica by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 111,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,323,000 after buying an additional 41,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 120,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,573,000 after buying an additional 11,612 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of PRI stock opened at $271.18 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $269.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.08. Primerica, Inc. has a 52-week low of $219.52 and a 52-week high of $307.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 1.02.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $5.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $803.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $783.54 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Primerica’s payout ratio is 27.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total value 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. The trade was a 8.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total transaction of $565,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 13,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,762,852.90. This represents a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.