T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 159,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,484 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Primerica worth $43,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRI. Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Primerica by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,729 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Primerica by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Primerica by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $309.14.

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of PRI traded down $3.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $261.70. The stock had a trading volume of 262,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 158,076. The firm has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 1.03. Primerica, Inc. has a twelve month low of $211.53 and a twelve month high of $307.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $272.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.93.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. Analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Primerica's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Primerica news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total transaction of $65,555.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 200 shares in the company, valued at $56,030. This represents a 53.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is 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.