Commerce Bank Lowers Stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank reduced its holdings in Primerica by 8.6% in Q1, owning 10,221 shares valued at approximately $2.9 million after selling 965 shares.
• Primerica's stock price opened at $259.45 and has seen fluctuations, with a 12-month low of $230.98 and a high of $307.91.
• The firm recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 27.98%.

Commerce Bank cut its stake in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 965 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Primerica were worth $2,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Colonial Trust Co SC acquired a new position in Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Primerica during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 105.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 253 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Primerica by 182.2% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PRI shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Primerica from $274.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five investment 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, Primerica presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $317.83.

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of Primerica stock traded down $0.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $264.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 151,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,710. Primerica, Inc. has a 52 week low of $230.98 and a 52 week high of $307.91. The stock has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $266.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $272.75.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $5.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $803.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $783.54 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 32.30% and a net margin of 15.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.98%.

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.