AlphaQuest LLC Sells 2,113 Shares of Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC reduced its stake in Primerica, Inc. by 17.2%, selling 2,113 shares and maintaining a holding of 10,179 shares valued at $2.9 million.
• Primerica's Q2 earnings surpassed expectations with earnings per share of $5.46, above the consensus estimate of $5.18, contributing to a year-over-year revenue increase of 0.3%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $4.16, with a dividend yield of 1.6%.

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its holdings in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,113 shares during the period. Primerica makes up 0.3% of AlphaQuest LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Primerica were worth $2,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI boosted its stake in Primerica by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 490,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $139,682,000 after buying an additional 13,402 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Primerica by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 856 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Primerica by 2.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 143,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,960,000 after buying an additional 3,335 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Primerica by 15.0% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 183,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,268,000 after buying an additional 23,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Primerica during the first quarter worth approximately $3,641,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.20, for a total value of $655,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 36,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,541,982.40. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRI. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Primerica from $292.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Primerica from $293.00 to $283.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.29.

Primerica Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of PRI traded up $2.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $270.35. 58,932 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 168,778. Primerica, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.98 and a fifty-two week high of $307.91. The company has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.99. The firm's fifty day moving average is $265.96 and its 200 day moving average is $269.72.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.18 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $796.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $790.99 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 21.48%.Primerica's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.71 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. 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.