Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,170 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.13% of Primerica worth $12,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRI. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 27,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,461,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 813 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 111,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,323,000 after purchasing an additional 41,612 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Primerica Stock Performance

NYSE PRI traded up $2.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $260.72. The stock had a trading volume of 12,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,423. Primerica, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.76 and a 52-week high of $307.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $278.62 and a 200 day moving average of $282.01. The stock has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 1.03.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Primerica's payout ratio is currently 30.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Primerica news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total transaction of $565,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $845,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,388,140.28. This trade represents a 8.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PRI. StockNews.com cut Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Primerica in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $309.14.

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.