Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM) by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,159,851 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 527,977 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 4.02% of Primoris Services worth $132,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PRIM. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,218,911 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $70,810,000 after buying an additional 15,070 shares during the last quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC raised its position in Primoris Services by 80.6% during the third quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC now owns 839,853 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,779,000 after acquiring an additional 374,926 shares in the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Primoris Services by 28.4% in the third quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 699,817 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,645,000 after acquiring an additional 154,627 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Primoris Services by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 607,010 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $35,255,000 after purchasing an additional 91,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Primoris Services during the second quarter valued at $28,089,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.82% of the company’s stock.

Primoris Services Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of PRIM opened at $79.40 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $73.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.40. Primoris Services Co. has a 12-month low of $30.94 and a 12-month high of $84.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29 and a beta of 1.12.

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The construction company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.20. Primoris Services had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 2.68%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Primoris Services Co. will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

Primoris Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Primoris Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Primoris Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Primoris Services news, Director David Lee King sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.14, for a total transaction of $152,280.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,965,782.52. This represents a 7.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Schauerman sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total transaction of $1,481,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 137,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,133,899.25. The trade was a 15.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,018 shares of company stock valued at $3,336,224. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PRIM. UBS Group raised their target price on Primoris Services from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Primoris Services in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Primoris Services from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Primoris Services from $51.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Primoris Services in a research note on Monday, October 7th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $71.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.00.

About Primoris Services

Primoris Services Corporation, a specialty contractor company, provides a range of specialty construction, fabrication, maintenance, replacement, and engineering services in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Utilities and Energy/Renewables segments. The Utilities segment offers installation and maintenance services for new and existing natural gas distribution systems, electric utility distribution and transmission systems, and communications systems.