Primerica (NYSE:PRI) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Time to Buy?

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) rose 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $285.36 and last traded at $284.70. Approximately 12,231 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 134,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $283.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $303.00.

Primerica Stock Up 1.1 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $285.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $269.21. The firm has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30 and a beta of 1.11.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.87. The company had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.25 million. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. Primerica’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.50%.

Primerica declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $450.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total value of $903,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at $10,942,728.94. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Primerica

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Primerica by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Primerica by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Primerica by 65.5% during the 4th 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. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new position in Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.