Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Takes Position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,981,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PRI. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Primerica by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 779,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $211,691,000 after purchasing an additional 82,921 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of Primerica by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 131,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,655,000 after buying an additional 60,565 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Primerica during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,191,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Primerica by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 120,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,573,000 after buying an additional 11,612 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Primerica by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 117,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,840,000 after buying an additional 11,996 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total transaction of $845,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,388,140.28. This represents a 8.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 13,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. This represents a 13.07 % 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 worth $1,476,575 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Primerica Stock Down 0.7 %

Primerica stock traded down $1.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $261.63. 112,799 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 158,000. Primerica, Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.53 and a 1-year high of $307.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $273.00 and a 200 day moving average of $281.09. The company has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 1.03.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Research analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Primerica's payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

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.