Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 96,406 Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its holdings in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 40.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 140,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 96,406 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.42% of Primerica worth $38,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,428,000 after buying an additional 10,635 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Primerica during the third quarter worth approximately $336,000. Forthright Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Primerica in the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 downgraded Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Primerica has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.14.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of PRI stock traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $265.55. The company had a trading volume of 18,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,317. The firm's fifty day moving average is $271.54 and its 200 day moving average is $280.56. Primerica, Inc. has a 12 month low of $211.54 and a 12 month high of $307.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Primerica's payout ratio is currently 30.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total transaction of $565,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 13,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 200 shares in the company, valued at $56,030. The trade was a 53.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

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.