Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Shares Down 4.7% – Time to Sell?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)’s share price traded down 4.7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $276.82 and last traded at $276.96. 53,676 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 165,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $290.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Primerica in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $309.86.

Primerica Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $286.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $282.49. The company has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01 and a beta of 1.12.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 31.11%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $1.04 dividend. This is an increase from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Primerica’s payout ratio is 30.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total transaction of $565,800.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 13,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,762,852.90. This represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total value of $845,220.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 33,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,388,140.28. This represents a 8.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575 over the last 90 days. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Colonial Trust Co SC bought a new stake in Primerica during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Primerica in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Primerica by 129.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

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.