Bridgewater Associates LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 46.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,213 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Primerica were worth $3,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,428,000 after acquiring an additional 10,635 shares during the last quarter. Sylvest Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter worth about $543,000. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its holdings in Primerica by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,340,000 after buying an additional 1,943 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Primerica by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 111,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,323,000 after buying an additional 41,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Primerica by 10.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Primerica news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 33,322 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,388,140.28. The trade was a 8.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the president now owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Primerica Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Primerica stock traded up $4.70 on Wednesday, reaching $259.46. The stock had a trading volume of 28,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,096. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $274.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.32. Primerica, Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.53 and a 1 year high of $307.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 1.03.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Primerica's payout ratio is currently 30.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Primerica 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.