Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires 18,663 Shares of Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. significantly increased its stake in Primerica by 93.2% in Q1, owning approximately $11.01 million worth of stock.
• Primerica reported $5.46 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 21.48% net margin.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, reflecting a 1.6% yield for investors.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 93.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,663 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. owned about 0.12% of Primerica worth $11,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PRI. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Primerica by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,191,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Primerica by 182.2% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Primerica by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Primerica Stock Up 1.1%

PRI stock traded up $2.9110 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $265.3010. The company's stock had a trading volume of 34,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,869. Primerica, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.98 and a 1 year high of $307.91. The company has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 0.99. The company's fifty day moving average is $264.98 and its 200-day moving average is $270.68.

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 net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.42%. The business 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 earned $4.71 EPS. The business's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.