Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes $2.92 Million Position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,921,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PRI. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Primerica by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,288,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $349,717,000 after buying an additional 21,208 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica during the fourth quarter worth $368,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 142,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,726,000 after acquiring an additional 11,737 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Primerica by 527.1% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 42,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,621,000 after purchasing an additional 35,988 shares during the period. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd increased its holdings in Primerica by 76.3% during the 4th quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 4,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,142 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Primerica

In other Primerica news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total transaction of $565,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,762,852.90. This trade represents a 13.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total transaction of $65,555.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,030. This represents a 53.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Primerica from $274.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $308.00.

Primerica Price Performance

PRI stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $270.54. The company had a trading volume of 159,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,017. The company has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68 and a beta of 1.02. Primerica, Inc. has a 52 week low of $219.52 and a 52 week high of $307.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $278.99.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $783.54 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. 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 firm posted $3.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Primerica's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.98%.

Primerica 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.