Legato Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Key Points

• Legato Capital Management opened a new position in Primerica, buying 4,212 shares valued at about $1.09 million in the fourth quarter.
• Primerica continues to draw mixed Wall Street views: analysts now have a consensus Hold rating with an average target price of $297.80, even after several recent rating and price-target updates.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $5.96 versus $5.45 expected and revenue up 8.6% year over year, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share.

Legato Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,088,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 186.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 106 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 620.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Primerica in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Primerica from $280.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Primerica in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Primerica from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Primerica from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $297.80.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.64, for a total transaction of $503,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 9,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,743,548.04. This trade represents a 15.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Primerica Stock Performance

Primerica stock opened at $280.05 on Monday. Primerica, Inc. has a 52-week low of $230.09 and a 52-week high of $288.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $265.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $261.28. The firm has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.45 by $0.51. Primerica had a net margin of 22.99% and a return on equity of 32.32%. The firm had revenue of $872.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $855.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.02 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 24.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.13%.

Primerica Profile

Primerica, Inc is a financial services company that focuses on delivering term life insurance and investment products to middle-income households in the United States and Canada. The firm operates a network of independent, licensed representatives who provide personalized guidance on coverage needs, retirement planning, and wealth accumulation. Primerica's core mission is to help clients obtain affordable life insurance protection while also offering a suite of savings and investment solutions designed for long-term financial security.

In addition to term life insurance, Primerica offers a range of financial products and services that include mutual funds, annuities, auto and home insurance through partner carriers, and personal lending solutions such as secured and unsecured loans.

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