Granite Investment Partners LLC Reduces Position in Primerica, Inc. $PRI

Granite Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 50.4% 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 4,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,576 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Primerica were worth $1,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Primerica by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,333,473 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,932,000 after acquiring an additional 23,454 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 437,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $119,847,000 after acquiring an additional 115,754 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Primerica by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 318,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $87,206,000 after acquiring an additional 3,024 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Primerica during the 3rd quarter worth $51,004,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 171,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,845,000 after acquiring an additional 30,533 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Primerica from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Primerica from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $292.00 price objective on Primerica in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Primerica in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Primerica presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $300.00.

Primerica Stock Performance

Primerica stock opened at $252.97 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $260.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.35. 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 $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.93%.

Primerica declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 19th that allows the company to repurchase $475.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $7,023,582.72. This trade represents a 8.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Joel M. Babbit sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $178,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at $2,142,000. This trade represents a 7.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Primerica Company Profile

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.