Primerica, Inc. $PRI Shares Sold by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,657 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Primerica were worth $36,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Primerica by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 6,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,742,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Primerica by 9.2% in the third quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Primerica by 11.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica in the third quarter worth about $1,349,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 30.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the period. 90.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.41, for a total transaction of $641,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,023,582.72. This represents a 8.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joel M. Babbit sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $178,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at $2,142,000. This trade represents a 7.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRI has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Primerica from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley set a $292.00 price objective on shares of Primerica in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Primerica from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Primerica in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $300.00.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRI opened at $253.58 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $260.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.20. Primerica, Inc. has a 1 year low of $230.09 and a 1 year high of $296.00. The company has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $6.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.69 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $853.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.65 million. Primerica had a net margin of 22.82% and a return on equity of 32.30%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current year.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 19th that authorizes the company to repurchase $475.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Primerica’s payout ratio is currently 20.93%.

About Primerica

Primerica, Inc is a financial services company that focuses on delivering term life insurance and investment products to middle-income households in the United States and Canada. The firm operates a network of independent, licensed representatives who provide personalized guidance on coverage needs, retirement planning, and wealth accumulation. Primerica’s core mission is to help clients obtain affordable life insurance protection while also offering a suite of savings and investment solutions designed for long-term financial security.

In addition to term life insurance, Primerica offers a range of financial products and services that include mutual funds, annuities, auto and home insurance through partner carriers, and personal lending solutions such as secured and unsecured loans.