World Investment Advisors Purchases Shares of 4,949 Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,343,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PRI. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 82,921 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Primerica in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,191,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 10.7% in 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Primerica by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 117,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,840,000 after purchasing an additional 11,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Primerica by 59.4% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 111,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,323,000 after purchasing an additional 41,612 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on PRI. BMO Capital Markets initiated 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. StockNews.com cut Primerica from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $309.14.

Insider Activity at Primerica

In other news, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,030. The trade was a 53.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the firm'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,234 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,575. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Primerica Stock Performance

NYSE:PRI traded down $15.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $246.66. The stock had a trading volume of 101,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,663. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $282.13. Primerica, Inc. has a twelve month low of $184.76 and a twelve month high of $307.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 1.03.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 31.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Primerica's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Primerica's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.25%.

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.