Meritage Portfolio Management Buys 210 Shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Primerica were worth $841,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Trust Point Inc. grew its holdings in Primerica by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Sylvest Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at $543,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Primerica by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $837,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Primerica during the fourth quarter valued at about $305,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Primerica in the fourth quarter valued at about $445,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PRI. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen boosted 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 initiated coverage on shares of Primerica in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Primerica currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.14.

Primerica Price Performance

Shares of Primerica stock opened at $295.89 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $283.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60 and a beta of 1.11. Primerica, Inc. has a 52-week low of $184.76 and a 52-week high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The firm had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $450.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Primerica

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total transaction of $903,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.