Millennium Management LLC Sells 128,845 Shares of Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Primerica, Inc. by 53.6%, selling 128,845 shares and now owns 111,362 shares worth approximately $31.7 million.
• CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of Primerica at an average price of $262.20, reducing his stake by 6.43%.
• Primerica recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for August 22nd, reflecting an annual yield of 1.5%.

Millennium Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 53.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 128,845 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.34% of Primerica worth $31,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Primerica by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Primerica by 171.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 315,986 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,907,000 after purchasing an additional 199,715 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Primerica by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in Primerica during the 1st quarter valued at $215,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Primerica by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 43,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,445,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Primerica Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Primerica stock traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $268.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 241,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,619. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $268.55. Primerica, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.98 and a 1-year 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 the consensus estimate of $5.18 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $796.02 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $790.99 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 21.48%.Primerica's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.55%.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 owned 36,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,541,982.40. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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