Bamco Inc. NY Has $449.35 Million Stock Position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Bamco Inc. NY lessened its holdings in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,655,547 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 56,464 shares during the quarter. Primerica comprises approximately 1.2% of Bamco Inc. NY's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Bamco Inc. NY owned approximately 4.96% of Primerica worth $449,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PRI. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Primerica by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 12,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,287,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Primerica by 22.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Primerica by 30.1% in 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 period. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Primerica by 4.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Primerica by 129.6% during the 4th 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 period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total value of $845,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total transaction of $565,800.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 13,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PRI shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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 research report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Primerica in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Primerica presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.14.

Primerica Price Performance

NYSE PRI traded down $2.61 on Friday, hitting $269.39. 53,565 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 156,904. The company's 50-day moving average price is $270.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.21. Primerica, Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.56 and a 52-week high of $307.91. The company has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 1.02.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $5.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $803.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.91 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.25%.

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.