Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,561 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.14% of Primerica worth $12,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRI. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Primerica during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Primerica by 116.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 214 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Primerica by 65.5% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 240 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target 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 lifted their target price on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Primerica in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $311.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Primerica currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.86.

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Insider Activity

In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 13,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 200 shares in the company, valued at $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 sold a total of 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575 in the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of PRI opened at $277.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 1.12. Primerica, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.76 and a 1 year high of $307.91. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $284.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $279.39.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This is a boost from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Primerica's payout ratio is 30.25%.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $450.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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