Marshall Wace LLP Makes New Investment in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,230,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 129.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Primerica by 116.2% in the fourth 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. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Primerica by 65.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Primerica by 182.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other Primerica news, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total transaction of $65,555.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 200 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,030. The trade was a 53.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total transaction of $845,220.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,388,140.28. This represents a 8.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575 in the last quarter. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Primerica Stock Performance

NYSE PRI traded up $0.05 on Monday, reaching $266.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,840. The firm's 50 day moving average is $271.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.56. Primerica, Inc. has a twelve month low of $211.54 and a twelve month high of $307.91. The stock has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38 and a beta of 1.02.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Primerica's payout ratio is 30.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Primerica 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.