UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Purchases 4,687 Shares of Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Primerica, Inc. by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, holding 147,366 shares valued at approximately $41.93 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Primerica reported earnings of $5.46 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, with quarterly revenue of $796.02 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, set to be paid on September 15, representing an annualized yield of 1.5%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,687 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.45% of Primerica worth $41,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Primerica in the 1st quarter valued at $156,019,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Primerica by 39,199.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 443,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $126,132,000 after buying an additional 442,170 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Primerica by 171.8% in 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 buying an additional 199,715 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Primerica by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,493,650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $994,048,000 after buying an additional 37,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Primerica by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 276,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $78,594,000 after buying an additional 36,095 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Primerica from $293.00 to $283.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Primerica from $292.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.29.

Primerica Trading Up 0.9%

PRI stock traded up $2.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $274.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 568,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 171,087. The company has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50 day moving average price is $266.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.40. Primerica, Inc. has a 12 month low of $230.98 and a 12 month high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.