Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Decreases Stock Position in Palomar Holdings, Inc. $PLMR

Key Points

• Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC trimmed its Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) stake by 4.0%, selling 10,785 shares and now holds 260,362 shares (~0.98% of the company) valued at about $35.09 million, making PLMR its 6th largest position (~3.5% of the firm's portfolio).
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — 65,132 shares worth $7.99 million sold in the last 90 days (including the CFO's sale), though insiders still own 3.7% and institutional investors own 90.25% of the stock.
• Analysts and fundamentals point to upside: Palomar beat Q earnings (EPS $2.24 vs. $2.06) with revenue up 62.7%, carries a consensus "Buy" and $161.75 average target, while the stock trades near $129 (market cap ~$3.42B, P/E ~17.97).

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC decreased its position in shares of Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,362 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,785 shares during the period. Palomar accounts for about 3.5% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC owned about 0.98% of Palomar worth $35,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Palomar by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 182,255 shares of the company's stock worth $21,278,000 after acquiring an additional 22,346 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Palomar by 93.7% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 19,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,933,000 after buying an additional 9,371 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Palomar during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,459,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Palomar by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 456,172 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,258,000 after buying an additional 45,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Palomar by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 104,449 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,194,000 after buying an additional 13,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO T Christopher Uchida sold 783 shares of Palomar stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.04, for a total transaction of $100,255.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,888,846.08. This trade represents a 5.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Angela L. Grant sold 260 shares of Palomar stock in a transaction on Saturday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.75, for a total value of $31,655.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $856,267.75. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 65,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,989,780 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLMR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Palomar from $183.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Palomar from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Palomar from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Palomar from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Palomar from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.75.

Palomar Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of PLMR opened at $129.04 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $124.19 and a 200 day moving average of $124.36. Palomar Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.75 and a 52-week high of $175.85.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $253.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.58 million. Palomar had a return on equity of 22.77% and a net margin of 22.50%.Palomar's revenue was up 62.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palomar Holdings, Inc. will post 8.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.