AGF Management Ltd. Lowers Stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Key Points

• AGF Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in Primerica, Inc. by selling 6,174 shares, now owning 635,221 shares, which constitutes 1.0% of its total portfolio, making it the firm's 23rd largest holding.
• Primerica recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, expected to yield 1.6% annually with a payout ratio of 20.55%.
• Analysts have given Primerica a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $317.83, while Morgan Stanley raised its price objective for the stock to $296.00.

AGF Management Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 635,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,174 shares during the period. Primerica comprises approximately 1.0% of AGF Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. AGF Management Ltd. owned approximately 1.92% of Primerica worth $180,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Primerica by 17.1% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Primerica by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Primerica by 69.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 10,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,847,000 after buying an additional 4,307 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Primerica during the 4th quarter worth $391,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Primerica by 224.3% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,628,000 after acquiring an additional 9,245 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PRI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Primerica from $274.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Primerica from $293.00 to $283.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $313.57.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.20, for a total value of $655,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 36,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,541,982.40. The trade was a 6.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Primerica Stock Performance

PRI traded down $1.34 on Thursday, hitting $262.65. 96,314 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 170,968. Primerica, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.98 and a fifty-two week high of $307.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.99. The business's fifty day moving average is $265.22 and its 200 day moving average is $271.54.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.18 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $796.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $790.99 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 21.48%. Primerica's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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 Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.55%.

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.