Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 6,682 Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,027 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,682 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of Primerica worth $9,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 129.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings 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 last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 65.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PRI. StockNews.com downgraded Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $309.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the president now owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,762,852.90. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total transaction of $65,555.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,030. This trade represents a 53.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Primerica Price Performance

NYSE:PRI traded down $0.01 on Tuesday, reaching $263.55. 109,488 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,880. The firm has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $280.45. Primerica, Inc. has a 52 week low of $211.54 and a 52 week high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 31.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Primerica's payout ratio is currently 30.25%.

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.