Nuveen LLC Makes New $156.02 Million Investment in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Primerica, buying 548,340 shares valued at approximately $156 million, representing 1.66% ownership of the company at the end of the latest reporting period.
• “Wall Street analysts” have mixed views on Primerica, with target prices ranging from $283 to $320, and a consensus "Hold" rating.
• Primerica announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.6%, with the payment scheduled for September 15th.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 548,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $156,019,000. Nuveen LLC owned 1.66% of Primerica at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Primerica by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 21.7% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in Primerica during the fourth quarter worth $391,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 224.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,628,000 after buying an additional 9,245 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Primerica in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,683,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PRI. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Primerica from $274.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Primerica from $293.00 to $283.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Primerica presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $313.57.

Primerica Stock Down 0.6%

Primerica stock traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $261.14. 85,838 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 170,339. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $265.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $271.35. Primerica, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.98 and a 12 month high of $307.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.99.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $796.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $790.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.71 earnings per share. Primerica's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Primerica's dividend payout ratio is 20.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $9,541,982.40. This trade represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

About Primerica

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.