Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Palomar Holdings, Inc. $PLMR

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR) by 14.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 182,255 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,346 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.68% of Palomar worth $21,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLMR. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Palomar by 234.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 798,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,147,000 after purchasing an additional 559,383 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Palomar by 290.2% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 497,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,675,000 after buying an additional 369,697 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Palomar during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,253,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Palomar by 2,753.2% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 180,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,841,000 after buying an additional 174,165 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Palomar by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 196,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,324,000 after buying an additional 77,992 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.25% of the company’s stock.

Palomar Price Performance

Shares of PLMR opened at $127.62 on Friday. Palomar Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $107.75 and a 1-year high of $175.85. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.30.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.45. Palomar had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The firm had revenue of $244.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palomar Holdings, Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Palomar news, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 2,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.74, for a total transaction of $268,436.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,904 shares in the company, valued at $12,040,572.96. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Knutzen sold 290 shares of Palomar stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.74, for a total transaction of $35,304.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,248 shares in the company, valued at $3,317,171.52. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,998 shares of company stock valued at $7,255,669. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Palomar from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Palomar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Palomar from $170.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Palomar from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.50.

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.