Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 321,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,860 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.97% of Primerica worth $91,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Primerica by 39,199.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 443,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,132,000 after buying an additional 442,170 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter worth about $34,191,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Primerica by 254.5% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 116,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,558,000 after acquiring an additional 83,477 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Primerica by 2,508.8% in the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 57,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,606,000 after acquiring an additional 55,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Primerica by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 347,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,194,000 after acquiring an additional 46,935 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE PRI opened at $264.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $265.32 and a 200 day moving average of $271.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.99. Primerica, Inc. has a 12-month low of $230.98 and a 12-month high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.18 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $796.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $790.99 million. Primerica had a net margin of 21.48% and a return on equity of 32.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.20, for a total value of $655,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 36,392 shares in the company, valued at $9,541,982.40. This represents a 6.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PRI shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Primerica from $293.00 to $283.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Primerica from $274.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Primerica has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $313.57.

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.