Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Has $3.56 Million Stock Position in Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Key Points

• Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC reduced its stake in Primerica, Inc. by 78.3%, now holding just 12,505 shares valued at approximately $3.56 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Primerica, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price around $315.29, showing slight adjustments from previous estimates.
• Primerica announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.5%, set to be paid on September 15th.

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC trimmed its position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 78.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 44,994 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC's holdings in Primerica were worth $3,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PRI. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Primerica by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 12,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,287,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 65,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,811,000 after acquiring an additional 22,275 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Primerica by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,553 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Primerica by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,829 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.20, for a total transaction of $655,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 36,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,541,982.40. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of PRI stock traded down $3.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $268.46. The company had a trading volume of 19,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,130. Primerica, Inc. has a one year low of $230.98 and a one year high of $307.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $266.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.88.

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

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given 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 yield of 1.5%. Primerica's dividend payout ratio is 20.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.