Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Shares Down 3.7%

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) traded down 3.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $232.46 and last traded at $234.24. 62,204 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 119,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Raymond James cut Primerica from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Primerica from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Primerica from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Primerica presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $244.20.

Primerica Trading Down 8.3 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $245.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.00. The company has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.06.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $726.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $723.64 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 27.83% and a net margin of 20.37%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a boost from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Primerica's payout ratio is currently 18.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other Primerica news, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.81, for a total value of $58,455.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,981. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.81, for a total value of $58,455.54. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,981. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.41, for a total transaction of $365,115.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 13,259 shares in the company, valued at $3,227,373.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,708 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,677 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Primerica by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,907,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $672,962,000 after buying an additional 24,125 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,277,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $564,529,000 after acquiring an additional 12,990 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primerica during the 4th quarter valued at $210,472,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Primerica by 0.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,112,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $133,174,000 after purchasing an additional 6,390 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 811,888 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $115,142,000 after buying an additional 174,822 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.