Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stock Position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Primerica were worth $1,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Primerica during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Primerica by 129.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 116.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 65.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Primerica by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total transaction of $565,800.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 13,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,762,852.90. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total value of $845,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,388,140.28. This trade represents a 8.26 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PRI. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $309.14.

Primerica Stock Down 0.4 %

PRI stock opened at $254.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $281.50. Primerica, Inc. has a twelve month low of $210.94 and a twelve month high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.25%.

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.