Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Key Points

• Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Primerica, Inc. by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter, owning 20,788 shares valued at approximately $5.69 million.
• Primerica reported $5.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.28, with a revenue of $796.02 million, up just 0.3% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.04 on September 15th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 28.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,546 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned 0.06% of Primerica worth $5,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Primerica by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,493,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $994,048,000 after purchasing an additional 37,994 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Primerica by 1.7% during the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,310,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $372,740,000 after purchasing an additional 21,546 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Primerica by 2.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 611,437 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $173,963,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Primerica during the first quarter valued at approximately $156,019,000. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI raised its position in Primerica by 2.8% during the first quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 490,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $139,682,000 after purchasing an additional 13,402 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PRI traded up $1.85 during trading on Thursday, reaching $272.80. 166,168 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 171,072. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 1.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $266.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $268.45. Primerica, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.98 and a 12-month high of $307.91.

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

Primerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 36,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,541,982.40. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.