Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $1.38 Million Stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Primerica were worth $1,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Primerica during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,191,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 254.5% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 116,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,558,000 after purchasing an additional 83,477 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 779,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,691,000 after purchasing an additional 82,921 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 85.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 131,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,655,000 after purchasing an additional 60,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 2,508.8% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 57,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,606,000 after purchasing an additional 55,295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Stock Up 1.0%

PRI stock opened at $279.02 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $269.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.06. The company has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29 and a beta of 1.02. Primerica, Inc. has a twelve month low of $219.52 and a twelve month high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The financial services provider reported $5.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.77 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $803.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $783.54 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 31.11% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Primerica Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is 27.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primerica

In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 13,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,762,852.90. The trade was a 13.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nicholas Adam Jendusa sold 234 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.15, for a total value of $65,555.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,030. This represents a 53.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PRI shares. StockNews.com cut Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Primerica presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $309.14.

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.