HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Position in Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Primerica, Inc. by 11.7%, now holding 17,291 shares worth approximately $4.92 million as per their recent SEC filing.
• Primerica recently reported $5.46 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenues of $796.02 million for the quarter.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,291 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,287 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Primerica worth $4,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRI. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Primerica in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $156,019,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 39,199.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 443,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $126,132,000 after acquiring an additional 442,170 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 254.5% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 116,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,558,000 after acquiring an additional 83,477 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 2,508.8% in the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 57,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,606,000 after acquiring an additional 55,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 347,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $94,194,000 after acquiring an additional 46,935 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Primerica Stock Performance

NYSE PRI traded up $4.8760 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $269.9860. The company had a trading volume of 144,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,886. Primerica, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.98 and a 1-year high of $307.91. The company has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $265.62 and a 200-day moving average of $270.31.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.46 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $796.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $790.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. Primerica's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Primerica's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on PRI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.