Vista Investment Partners II LLC Buys Shares of 6,522 Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Key Points

• Vista Investment Partners II initiated a new stake in Primerica, buying 6,522 shares in Q4 worth about $1.685 million, while several large institutions (Dimensional, First Trust, AQR, Nordea) also boosted holdings, leaving institutional ownership at 90.88%.
• Quarterly results beat estimates — EPS $6.13 vs. $5.69 consensus and revenue $853.5M vs. $839.7M — with a 22.8% net margin and 32.3% ROE, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.20 ($4.80 annualized, ~1.8% yield).
• The stock trades at a PE of 11.5 with a market cap of $8.35B; MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $293.60, and insiders (including the president and CEO) have recently sold shares.

Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new stake in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,685,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Primerica by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 613,329 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $170,248,000 after buying an additional 2,525 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Primerica by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 492,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $136,597,000 after buying an additional 54,158 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Primerica by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 347,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $96,089,000 after buying an additional 70,510 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in shares of Primerica by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 256,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $71,278,000 after buying an additional 6,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Primerica by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 216,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,150,000 after buying an additional 31,876 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Primerica Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:PRI opened at $263.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 0.90. Primerica, Inc. has a twelve month low of $230.09 and a twelve month high of $288.03. The company's 50 day moving average is $256.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.10.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $6.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.69 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $853.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $839.65 million. Primerica had a net margin of 22.82% and a return on equity of 32.30%. Primerica's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.03 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.93%.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other Primerica news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,800 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.38, for a total transaction of $454,284.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 11,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,930,384.18. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.41, for a total transaction of $641,025.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,023,582.72. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PRI. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Primerica from $292.00 to $285.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Primerica from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Primerica in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Primerica from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Primerica in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Primerica has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $293.60.

Primerica Profile

Primerica, Inc is a financial services company that focuses on delivering term life insurance and investment products to middle-income households in the United States and Canada. The firm operates a network of independent, licensed representatives who provide personalized guidance on coverage needs, retirement planning, and wealth accumulation. Primerica's core mission is to help clients obtain affordable life insurance protection while also offering a suite of savings and investment solutions designed for long-term financial security.

In addition to term life insurance, Primerica offers a range of financial products and services that include mutual funds, annuities, auto and home insurance through partner carriers, and personal lending solutions such as secured and unsecured loans.

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