Van ECK Associates Corp Has $7.87 Million Stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 34.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,995 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,349 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Primerica worth $7,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Primerica during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Primerica during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Primerica by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 149 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total transaction of $845,220.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,388,140.28. This trade represents a 8.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of PRI stock traded down $6.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $273.38. The company had a trading volume of 125,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,186. Primerica, Inc. has a 1-year low of $184.76 and a 1-year high of $307.91. The firm has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $281.95 and a 200 day moving average of $276.58.

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, 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a positive change from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRI. BMO Capital Markets started 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Primerica from $308.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six 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 stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $311.14.

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.