Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Stock Price Up 0.7% - Should You Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $290.63 and last traded at $289.80. 12,075 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 153,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $287.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PRI. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets started 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 for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $309.86.

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Primerica Trading Down 1.4 %

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $285.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $280.60. The company has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73 and a beta of 1.12.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Primerica's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,030. This trade 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 quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primerica

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Primerica by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,288,473 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $349,717,000 after acquiring an additional 21,208 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Primerica by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 779,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $211,691,000 after acquiring an additional 82,921 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Primerica by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 347,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $94,194,000 after acquiring an additional 46,935 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Primerica by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 230,736 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Primerica by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 159,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,366,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

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.