Jennison Associates LLC Invests $644,000 in Primo Water Co. (NYSE:PRMW)

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Primo Water Co. (NYSE:PRMW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 42,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Primo Water by 6.0% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 28,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Primo Water by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 36,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Primo Water by 0.7% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 261,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Primo Water by 358.1% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Primo Water by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 20,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.71% of the company’s stock.

Primo Water Stock Performance

NYSE:PRMW opened at $18.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.12. Primo Water Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.27 and a fifty-two week high of $19.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.53.

Primo Water (NYSE:PRMW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $438.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $582.93 million. Primo Water had a net margin of 10.82% and a return on equity of 8.55%. Equities research analysts predict that Primo Water Co. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Primo Water Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Primo Water’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Primo Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRMW has been the subject of several research reports. TD Securities cut their target price on Primo Water from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Primo Water from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Raymond James lowered Primo Water from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Primo Water from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.75.

Primo Water Profile

Primo Water Corporation provides pure-play water solutions for residential and commercial customers. It offers bottled water, water dispensers, purified bottled water, self-service refill drinking water, premium spring, mineral water, sparkling and flavored essence water, filtration units, and coffee.