Commerce Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Commerce Bank reduced its stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 920 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Primerica were worth $3,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PRI. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Primerica by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 5,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Primerica by 41.2% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in Primerica by 2.2% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 33,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,373,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Primerica during the 1st quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Primerica by 55.0% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Primerica Stock Up 1.6 %

PRI opened at $301.71 on Friday. Primerica, Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.76 and a 52 week high of $304.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $277.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.40. The firm has a market cap of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 1.08.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $5.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.87. The business had revenue of $774.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.25 million. Primerica had a net margin of 14.95% and a return on equity of 30.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.28 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.27, for a total value of $903,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,322 shares in the company, valued at $10,942,728.94. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.11, for a total transaction of $391,665.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 10,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,678,727.49. This represents a 12.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,803,175 over the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PRI shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler began coverage on Primerica in a research report on Friday, August 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Primerica in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $314.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $288.33.

Primerica 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.