Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stake in Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM - Free Report) by 76.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,680 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 8,631 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Primoris Services were worth $205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PRIM. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Primoris Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,851,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Primoris Services by 97.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 772,591 shares of the construction company's stock worth $59,026,000 after purchasing an additional 381,284 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Primoris Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,636,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Primoris Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $21,199,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 549.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 246,949 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $14,343,000 after buying an additional 208,920 shares during the last quarter. 91.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Primoris Services in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Primoris Services from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Primoris Services in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Primoris Services in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Primoris Services in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Primoris Services presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $89.14.

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Primoris Services Trading Down 7.0 %

Primoris Services stock traded down $4.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $55.24. 289,367 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 700,683. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $69.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.62. Primoris Services Co. has a 52-week low of $42.22 and a 52-week high of $90.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 1.13.

Primoris Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Primoris Services's payout ratio is currently 9.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas Edward Mccormick sold 61,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.10, for a total value of $3,935,099.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,796 shares in the company, valued at $2,999,623.60. This trade represents a 56.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen C. Cook sold 998 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.00, for a total transaction of $67,864.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $501,636. This represents a 11.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,888 shares of company stock worth $4,310,043 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

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.