Verition Fund Management LLC Makes New Investment in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PRI. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Primerica during the second quarter worth about $30,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Primerica during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Primerica during the third quarter worth about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Primerica by 85.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Primerica by 56.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Primerica Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of PRI opened at $284.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $287.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.86. The company has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72 and a beta of 1.09. Primerica, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.76 and a 52-week high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.25 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 14.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $450.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is currently 27.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PRI. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Primerica in a research note on Friday, August 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen upped their target price 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, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $293.50.

Primerica 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.