Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Makes New Investment in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $951,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PRI. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Primerica by 11.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Primerica in the 4th quarter valued at $34,191,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Primerica by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 120,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,573,000 after acquiring an additional 11,612 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Primerica by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 117,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,840,000 after acquiring an additional 11,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Primerica by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 111,720 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,323,000 after acquiring an additional 41,612 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.90, for a total value of $565,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 13,301 shares in the company, valued at $3,762,852.90. This trade represents a 13.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Glenn J. Williams sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.74, for a total transaction of $845,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 33,322 shares in the company, valued at $9,388,140.28. The trade was a 8.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,234 shares of company stock worth $1,476,575. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PRI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Primerica from $315.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Primerica from $313.00 to $304.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Primerica from $313.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Primerica from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Primerica in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $311.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $309.86.

Primerica Stock Performance

Shares of Primerica stock opened at $275.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $285.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $282.44. Primerica, Inc. has a one year low of $184.76 and a one year high of $307.91.

Primerica (NYSE:PRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by $0.22. Primerica had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 31.11%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Primerica, Inc. will post 20.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Primerica’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Primerica’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.25%.

About Primerica

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.