Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,976 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Primerica were worth $3,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Primerica by 26.6% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 3,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $838,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Primerica in the second quarter worth about $412,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Primerica by 13.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 66,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,650,000 after purchasing an additional 7,708 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Primerica in the second quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Primerica by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $753,000 after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Primerica Stock Performance

Primerica stock opened at $271.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $286.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $267.55. Primerica, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.76 and a 1 year high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last released its 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 business had revenue of $774.13 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Primerica’s payout ratio is currently 27.50%.

Primerica announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $450.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PRI. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $314.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Primerica from $320.00 to $315.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Truist Financial increased their price target on Primerica from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $303.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 36,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,942,728.94. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

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.