Fred Alger Management LLC Sells 41,482 Shares of Palomar Holdings, Inc. $PLMR

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC reduced its Palomar Holdings stake by 19% in the fourth quarter, selling 41,482 shares and leaving it with 176,316 shares valued at about $23.76 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted positions, and institutional ownership remains high at 90.25%. Meanwhile, insiders have sold 18,634 shares over the last 90 days, including sales by President Jon Christianson and CEO Mac Armstrong.
• Palomar’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $2.31 topping estimates, while revenue rose 59.7% year over year. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $147.75, though several firms have recently cut targets or downgraded ratings.

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR - Free Report) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 176,316 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,482 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 0.67% of Palomar worth $23,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Palomar by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Palomar by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palomar by 31.0% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Palomar by 0.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 24,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,734,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Palomar by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,254 shares of the company's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Jon Christianson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $375,000.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 62,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,864,875. This represents a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.58, for a total value of $422,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 339,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,983,695.04. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,634 shares of company stock worth $2,318,111. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLMR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Palomar from $186.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Palomar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Palomar from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Zacks Research downgraded Palomar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Palomar from $151.00 to $132.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palomar currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.75.

Palomar Trading Up 0.9%

PLMR opened at $114.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $117.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.69. Palomar Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $100.81 and a one year high of $162.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $278.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $557.79 million. Palomar had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 20.11%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 59.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Palomar Holdings, Inc. will post 8.99 EPS for the current year.

About Palomar

Palomar Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: PLMR is a specialty insurance holding company focused on providing medical stop-loss coverage and related administrative services to self-funded employer health plans in the United States. The firm operates through two primary business segments—Medical Stop-Loss and Specialty Program Management—to deliver tailored risk protection and comprehensive program administration.

In its Medical Stop-Loss segment, Palomar underwrites excess and aggregate stop-loss policies designed to shield self-insured employers from catastrophic medical claims that exceed pre-determined retention levels.

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