Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Stock Price Down 2.5% - Time to Sell?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 2.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $280.67 and last traded at $282.02. 19,241 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 139,598 shares. The stock had previously closed at $289.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Primerica has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.86.

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Primerica Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $283.93 and a 200 day moving average of $278.89.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Primerica's payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total value of $845,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,030. This trade represents a 53.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575 over the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primerica

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Primerica during the fourth quarter worth about $34,191,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Primerica by 254.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 116,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,558,000 after buying an additional 83,477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Primerica by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 779,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $211,691,000 after buying an additional 82,921 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd grew its position in Primerica by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 131,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,655,000 after buying an additional 60,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC grew its position in Primerica by 2,508.8% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 57,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,606,000 after buying an additional 55,295 shares in the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.