Bank of Nova Scotia Invests $4.26 Million in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,261,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PRI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Primerica in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Primerica by 129.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Primerica by 116.2% during the 4th 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Primerica by 65.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in Primerica by 52.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 365 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Primerica Trading Down 0.4 %

Primerica stock traded down $1.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $254.05. 105,764 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 166,719. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $276.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.58. Primerica, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $184.76 and a fifty-two week high of $307.91. The firm has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48 and a beta of 1.03.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share 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%. Analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total value of $65,555.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,030. The trade was a 53.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total value of $565,800.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,762,852.90. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.