Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Shares Up 2% – Time to Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s share price rose 2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $280.18 and last traded at $279.54. Approximately 17,540 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 130,671 shares. The stock had previously closed at $273.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PRI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.00.

Primerica Trading Up 2.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $9.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $268.83.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.87. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The firm had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.28 earnings per share. Primerica’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is presently 27.50%.

Primerica declared 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 repurchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,942,728.94. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PRI. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Primerica by 30,726.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,102,000 after purchasing an additional 678,752 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Primerica by 2,986.9% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 32,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,595,000 after purchasing an additional 31,064 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Primerica by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 696,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $184,807,000 after purchasing an additional 25,951 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 359,742.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 25,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,679,000 after buying an additional 25,182 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Primerica by 3.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 637,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $150,880,000 after buying an additional 21,836 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.