Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Trading Down 0.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) shares traded down 0.3% during trading on Wednesday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $313.00 to $300.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Primerica traded as low as $273.07 and last traded at $274.73. 41,039 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 152,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.64.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on PRI. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $296.33.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total value of $903,810.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at $10,942,728.94. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PRI. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Primerica during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 85.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 56.8% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 45.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Primerica Stock Down 3.1 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $287.90 and a 200-day moving average of $262.56. The company has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40 and a beta of 1.09.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.87. The business had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.25 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $450.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.