Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Palomar Holdings, Inc. $PLMR

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its Palomar stake by 2.5% in Q4 to 2,698,278 shares — roughly a 10.18% ownership position valued at about $363.62 million.
• Palomar topped expectations last quarter with EPS of $2.24 vs. $2.06 and revenue of $253.36M (up 62.7% year-over-year); the stock trades at a PE of 15.42 and a market cap near $2.94 billion.
• Wall Street consensus is a Buy with an average target of $161.75, institutional ownership is very high at 90.25%, while insiders have sold ~21,720 shares (~$2.73M) recently and now hold 3.7%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,698,278 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 67,038 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.18% of Palomar worth $363,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PLMR. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Palomar by 210.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 217 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palomar in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Palomar during the 1st quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Palomar by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 482 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. 90.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PLMR. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Palomar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Palomar from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore initiated coverage on Palomar in a research note on Monday, February 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Palomar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Palomar from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $161.75.

Palomar Price Performance

PLMR stock opened at $110.75 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.68. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.49. Palomar Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $107.75 and a one year high of $175.85.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.18. Palomar had a net margin of 22.50% and a return on equity of 22.77%. The company had revenue of $253.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 62.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Palomar Holdings, Inc. will post 8.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palomar

In related news, insider Jonathan Knutzen sold 281 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.04, for a total transaction of $35,979.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,531,215.16. This trade represents a 1.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Jon Christianson sold 1,937 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.62, for a total value of $249,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 65,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,478,501.78. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,720 shares of company stock worth $2,733,817. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palomar Company Profile

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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