Sovereign s Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,250,000. Primerica accounts for about 2.7% of Sovereign s Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Primerica by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $709,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Primerica by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,729 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRI. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Primerica from $274.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Primerica has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.00.

Primerica Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Primerica stock traded down $4.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $268.07. 143,521 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,307. The company has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $280.04. Primerica, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $219.52 and a fifty-two week high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $5.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.91 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Primerica's payout ratio is presently 27.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other news, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total value of $65,555.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,030. This trade represents a 53.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 13,301 shares in the company, valued at $3,762,852.90. This trade represents a 13.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

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.