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

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s share price dropped 0.3% 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. Approximately 41,039 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 152,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.64.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total value of $903,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,942,728.94. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Primerica

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 1.4% during the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,237,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,688,000 after acquiring an additional 17,095 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Primerica by 3.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Primerica by 30,726.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 680,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $161,102,000 after purchasing an additional 678,752 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Primerica by 3.5% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Primerica by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 121,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,176,000 after buying an additional 5,323 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $287.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $262.59.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last issued 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 business had revenue of $774.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.28 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s payout ratio is currently 27.50%.

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

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.