Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 7,728 Shares of Palomar Holdings, Inc. $PLMR

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its Palomar Holdings stake by 55.8% in the second quarter, selling 7,728 shares and retaining 6,132 shares valued at approximately $775,000.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 90.25%, with BlackRock and Jupiter Topco initiating significant positions while other major funds increased their holdings.
• Palomar reported quarterly EPS of $2.36, exceeding the $2.19 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $162.75 versus the stock’s reported $136 price.

Squarepoint Ops LLC trimmed its position in shares of Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR - Free Report) by 55.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,132 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,728 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Palomar were worth $775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Palomar during the 2nd quarter worth about $556,348,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palomar during the second quarter worth $132,166,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Palomar by 17.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 933,993 shares of the company's stock worth $111,664,000 after purchasing an additional 138,368 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in Palomar by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 840,226 shares of the company's stock worth $113,229,000 after purchasing an additional 101,698 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Palomar by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 714,914 shares of the company's stock worth $85,432,000 after purchasing an additional 20,597 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.25% of the company's stock.

Palomar Trading Down 1.0%

Palomar stock opened at $136.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $133.92 and a 200-day moving average of $125.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Palomar Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $100.81 and a one year high of $147.62.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.17. Palomar had a return on equity of 23.28% and a net margin of 18.61%.The business had revenue of $314.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $621.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Palomar Holdings, Inc. will post 9.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palomar Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. Palomar's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jonathan Knutzen sold 296 shares of Palomar stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.75, for a total transaction of $37,814.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,608,937.50. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.60, for a total value of $457,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 322,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,103,872.80. This trade represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,665 shares of company stock valued at $3,138,093. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PLMR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Palomar from $132.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Palomar from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Palomar from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Palomar from $166.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $152.00 price target on shares of Palomar in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $162.75.

About Palomar

Palomar Holdings, Inc is a specialty insurance company that provides property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company focuses on markets that are often underserved by traditional insurers, using specialized underwriting expertise and data-driven risk analysis to develop coverage for complex or niche exposures.

Palomar's products include residential and commercial earthquake insurance, specialty property coverage, inland marine insurance, casualty insurance, crop insurance and other specialty insurance solutions.

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