State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in shares of Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) by 32.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,326 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Primerica were worth $3,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 493.3% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Primerica by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 1st quarter valued at about $163,000. Finally, O Dell Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at about $153,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on PRI shares. Piper Sandler began coverage on Primerica in a report on Friday, August 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $283.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Primerica from $257.00 to $269.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Primerica from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com cut Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Primerica from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $275.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.11, for a total value of $391,665.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 10,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,678,727.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Primerica news, Director John A. Jr. Addison sold 2,000 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.85, for a total transaction of $507,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,846,081.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Peter W. Schneider sold 1,500 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.11, for a total value of $391,665.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 10,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,678,727.49. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,500 shares of company stock worth $1,657,015 in the last quarter. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Primerica Price Performance

PRI opened at $256.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 1.09. Primerica, Inc. has a 1 year low of $184.76 and a 1 year high of $265.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.75.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $4.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.47 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $803.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $748.88 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 27.81% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Primerica, Inc. will post 17.94 EPS for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This is a boost from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.91%.

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.