Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Position in Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM) by 19.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,159,851 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 527,977 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Primoris Services were worth $132,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PRIM. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Primoris Services by 1.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 15,070 shares during the last quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Primoris Services by 80.6% in 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 increased its position in shares of Primoris Services by 28.4% during the third quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 699,817 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,645,000 after purchasing an additional 154,627 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $35,255,000 after purchasing an additional 91,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Primoris Services during the second quarter worth approximately $28,089,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Primoris Services Stock Performance

Shares of PRIM opened at $79.40 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29 and a beta of 1.12. Primoris Services Co. has a 52-week low of $30.94 and a 52-week high of $84.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

Primoris Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. This is a boost from Primoris Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. Primoris Services’s payout ratio is presently 7.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Primoris Services

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

Primoris Services Profile

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.