Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Buys 2,299 Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 75.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,299 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Primerica were worth $1,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRI. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased 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 worth $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Primerica by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Primerica by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 26.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of PRI stock opened at $261.08 on Monday. Primerica, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $230.98 and a fifty-two week high of $307.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $264.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.81. The company has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56 and a beta of 0.99.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $803.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $783.54 million. Primerica had a net margin of 15.82% and a return on equity of 32.30%. Primerica's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.91 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Primerica from $274.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Primerica currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $308.00.

About Primerica

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PRI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.