GW&K Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Old Republic International Corporation $ORI

GW&K Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Old Republic International Corporation (NYSE:ORI) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,175,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 216,108 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned about 0.48% of Old Republic International worth $53,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in Old Republic International by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 35,601 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 6,880 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in Old Republic International by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 44,383 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,026,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Old Republic International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Waddell & Associates LLC grew its stake in Old Republic International by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC now owns 8,267 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 147,748 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,743,000 after purchasing an additional 27,602 shares during the last quarter. 70.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Old Republic International Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE ORI opened at $37.86 on Wednesday. Old Republic International Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.60 and a 52-week high of $46.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.72 and a 200-day moving average of $41.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.11). Old Republic International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Old Republic International Corporation will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Old Republic International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Old Republic International’s dividend payout ratio is 33.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 13,330 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.76, for a total transaction of $516,670.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,250,436.36. This represents a 29.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ORI. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Old Republic International from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Old Republic International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Old Republic International in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Old Republic International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

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. The General Insurance segment offers aviation, commercial auto, commercial multi-peril, commercial property, general liability, home and auto warranty, inland marine, travel accident, and workers' compensation insurance products; and financial indemnity products for specialty coverages, including errors and omissions, fidelity, directors and officers, and surety.