Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 612,390 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 343% from the previous session’s volume of 138,261 shares.The stock last traded at $187.11 and had previously closed at $211.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PRI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Primerica from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Primerica from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Raymond James cut shares of Primerica from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Primerica from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $245.50.

Primerica Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $7.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $243.14 and a 200 day moving average of $221.80.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $726.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $723.64 million. Primerica had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 27.83%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 17.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 21st were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This is a boost from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.89%.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other Primerica news, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.81, for a total transaction of $58,455.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 100 shares in the company, valued at $24,981. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Primerica news, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 1,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.00, for a total transaction of $302,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,467 shares in the company, valued at $4,100,283. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.81, for a total transaction of $58,455.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,981. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,708 shares of company stock valued at $1,648,677 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Primerica during the fourth quarter worth about $339,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 44.1% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 84,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,479,000 after purchasing an additional 25,981 shares during the period. James Investment Research Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Primerica during the third quarter worth about $1,054,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Primerica during the fourth quarter worth about $2,016,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Primerica during the third quarter worth about $6,098,000. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.