MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 1,321 Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,321 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Primerica worth $5,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total transaction of $845,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 33,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,388,140.28. This represents a 8.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total value of $65,555.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,030. This represents a 53.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Primerica Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:PRI traded up $2.47 during trading on Monday, hitting $264.04. 77,795 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 157,731. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $273.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.13. Primerica, Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.53 and a 1-year high of $307.91. The firm has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17 and a beta of 1.03.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. As a group, research analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Primerica's payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.