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

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Primoris Services Co. (NASDAQ:PRIM - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 4.02% of Primoris Services worth $132,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Primoris Services by 1,945.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 16,244 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 15,450 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Primoris Services by 74.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 54,286 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,708,000 after purchasing an additional 23,200 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Primoris Services by 40,543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,503 shares of the construction company's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 6,487 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Primoris Services by 112.9% in the second quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,455 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 9,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Primoris Services by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 97,400 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,859,000 after buying an additional 11,488 shares during the period. 91.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Primoris Services

In other news, CEO Thomas Edward Mccormick sold 15,000 shares of Primoris Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.28, for a total transaction of $1,219,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,989,779.20. The trade was a 19.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Schauerman sold 25,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 137,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,133,899.25. This trade represents a 15.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,018 shares of company stock valued at $3,336,224. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PRIM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Primoris Services in a research report on Monday, October 7th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $71.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp assumed 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 for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price 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 boosted their target price on Primoris Services from $75.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Primoris Services from $60.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Primoris Services currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.00.

Primoris Services Stock Performance

Shares of PRIM stock traded up $2.46 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $81.86. The company had a trading volume of 664,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 581,844. Primoris Services Co. has a 52-week low of $30.94 and a 52-week high of $84.97. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $73.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.58. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.11 and a beta of 1.12.

Primoris Services (NASDAQ:PRIM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The construction company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.20. Primoris Services had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.02 EPS. Primoris Services's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. This is an increase from Primoris Services's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Primoris Services's dividend payout ratio is 10.60%.

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.