Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) Trading 5.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR) shares were up 5.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $129.29 and last traded at $130.7950. 46,513 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 269,703 shares. The stock had previously closed at $123.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PLMR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Palomar from $150.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Palomar from $132.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Palomar from $166.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Evercore set a $152.00 price target on Palomar in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Palomar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.75.

Palomar Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $130.18 and its 200 day moving average is $123.84.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.17. Palomar had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 23.28%. The company had revenue of $314.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $621.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Palomar Holdings, Inc. will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

Palomar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.26, for a total transaction of $480,410.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,731,386.88. The trade was a 1.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President Jon Christianson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.50, for a total transaction of $418,500.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 66,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,273,681. This trade represents a 4.32% 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. Insiders sold a total of 18,550 shares of company stock worth $2,474,685 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palomar

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Palomar by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Palomar by 5.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,115,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palomar in the first quarter worth about $66,000. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Palomar in the first quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palomar by 11.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 72,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,960,000 after purchasing an additional 7,754 shares during the period. 90.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.