Wesbanco Bank Inc. Invests $924,000 in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,651 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $924,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Primerica by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Primerica by 6.7% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 378.6% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 50,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,787,000 after purchasing an additional 39,905 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Primerica by 1.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. bought a new position in Primerica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $284,000. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on PRI. Raymond James downgraded shares of Primerica from a "strong-buy" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Primerica from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Primerica from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Primerica from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Primerica currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $245.50.

Primerica Price Performance

NYSE PRI traded down $1.35 on Friday, hitting $217.99. 199,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 291,986. Primerica, Inc. has a twelve month low of $173.00 and a twelve month high of $256.56. The company's 50 day moving average price is $237.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.27 by ($0.02). Primerica had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 27.83%. The firm had revenue of $726.34 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $723.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.49 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 17.78 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a boost from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Primerica's payout ratio is 18.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 13,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,227,373.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, COO Gregory C. Pitts sold 3,759 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.43, for a total transaction of $922,571.37. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 3,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $829,307.97. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the sale, the president now owns 13,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,227,373.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,708 shares of company stock worth $1,648,677. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Primerica Company 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.

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