First Trust Advisors LP Sells 7,759 Shares of Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 504,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,759 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Old Republic International were worth $18,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ORI. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 18,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,715 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Old Republic International by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 23,485 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berry Wealth Group LP increased its holdings in Old Republic International by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP now owns 6,251 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. 70.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on ORI. StockNews.com upgraded Old Republic International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Old Republic International from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st.

Old Republic International Price Performance

Old Republic International stock opened at $37.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.68. Old Republic International Co. has a 12-month low of $29.51 and a 12-month high of $39.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.76.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. Old Republic International had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Old Republic International Co. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Old Republic International’s payout ratio is 47.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Republic International

In related news, CEO Craig R. Smiddy sold 5,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.60, for a total transaction of $204,425.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 138,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,335,369.20. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 9,188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total transaction of $333,983.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,219,760.60. This trade represents a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,039 shares of company stock valued at $1,580,733. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Old Republic International

Old Republic International Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the insurance underwriting and related services business primarily in the United States and Canada. It operates through three segments: General Insurance, Title Insurance, and Republic Financial Indemnity Group Run-off Business.