AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 254.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 83,477 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.35% of Primerica worth $31,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica in the fourth quarter worth $34,191,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Primerica by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 779,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $211,691,000 after buying an additional 82,921 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its position in Primerica by 85.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 131,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,655,000 after acquiring an additional 60,565 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 347,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $94,194,000 after acquiring an additional 46,935 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Primerica by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 111,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,323,000 after purchasing an additional 41,612 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total transaction of $845,220.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total value of $565,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07 % 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 over the last three months. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Primerica Stock Up 4.1 %

NYSE PRI traded up $10.83 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $277.53. 66,001 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 156,691. Primerica, Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.56 and a 52 week high of $307.91. The stock has a market cap of $9.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $270.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $280.24.

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

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Primerica's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets began 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 for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. 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 research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.14.

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.