Petrus Trust Company LTA Sells 985 Shares of Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA reduced its stake in Primerica, Inc. by 55.5% in the first quarter, now holding 789 shares worth $224,000 after selling 985 shares.
• Various institutional investors have increased their holdings in Primerica, with notable increases from Deutsche Bank AG (224.3%) and Cerity Partners LLC (21.7%).
• Primerica's stock price has dipped 1.2% recently, with current shares trading at $271.66, while the company reported a quarterly earnings beat of $5.46 per share.

Petrus Trust Company LTA reduced its position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 55.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 789 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 985 shares during the quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA's holdings in Primerica were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Primerica by 17.1% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 21.7% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 224.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,628,000 after acquiring an additional 9,245 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Primerica in the first quarter worth about $2,683,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Primerica by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the company'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 transaction of $655,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 36,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,541,982.40. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PRI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Primerica from $292.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Primerica from $293.00 to $283.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.29.

Primerica Price Performance

NYSE:PRI traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $273.97. 15,119 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 170,278. Primerica, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.98 and a twelve month high of $307.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $266.56 and a 200 day moving average of $268.69. The stock has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 1.00.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.18 by $0.28. Primerica had a return on equity of 32.42% and a net margin of 21.48%.The firm 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 EPS. The business's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

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

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.