Vest Financial LLC Buys New Position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,485,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PRI. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Primerica by 39,199.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 443,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,132,000 after buying an additional 442,170 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at $34,191,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 254.5% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 116,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,558,000 after acquiring an additional 83,477 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 779,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $211,691,000 after acquiring an additional 82,921 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 131,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,655,000 after purchasing an additional 60,565 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Primerica Trading Down 0.9%

Primerica stock traded down $2.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $259.92. 180,344 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 156,576. Primerica, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $219.52 and a fifty-two week high of $307.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $263.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $277.33.

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 business had revenue of $803.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $783.54 million. Primerica had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 31.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.91 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Primerica from $274.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.00.

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.