Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Reduces Position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP decreased its stake in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 63.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,874 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Primerica were worth $770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PRI. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Primerica by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Primerica by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 65,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,811,000 after buying an additional 22,275 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 6,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Primerica by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of Primerica stock traded up $3.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $274.59. 57,476 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 156,871. Primerica, Inc. has a 1-year low of $219.52 and a 1-year high of $307.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $269.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97 and a beta of 1.02.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $5.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.25. Primerica had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The company had revenue of $803.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $783.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.91 EPS. Primerica's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Primerica's payout ratio is 27.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owns 33,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,388,140.28. This represents a 8.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the president now owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Primerica 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.