FJ Capital Management LLC Takes $538,000 Position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Primerica by 129.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Primerica by 116.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Primerica by 65.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of PRI stock traded up $3.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $274.57. 74,527 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 168,982. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $269.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.08. Primerica, Inc. has a 52-week low of $219.52 and a 52-week high of $307.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97 and a beta of 1.02.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $5.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.25. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company had revenue of $803.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $783.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.91 earnings per share. Primerica's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Primerica's payout ratio is currently 27.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total value of $565,800.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. This trade represents a 13.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total transaction of $65,555.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,030. The trade was a 53.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PRI shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.14.

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.