Insider Selling: Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) CEO Sells 5,296 Shares of Stock

Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) CEO Craig R. Smiddy sold 5,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 138,222 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Old Republic International Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of ORI traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.82. 641,745 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,110,189. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Old Republic International Co. has a 52 week low of $28.59 and a 52 week high of $39.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.13. The company has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.88.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.19. Old Republic International had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 10.36%. On average, research analysts forecast that Old Republic International Co. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is a boost from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Old Republic International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut Old Republic International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Old Republic International by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,176,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $114,940,000 after purchasing an additional 400,384 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Old Republic International during the 4th quarter worth about $105,581,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,349,942 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $85,044,000 after buying an additional 490,788 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Old Republic International by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,885,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $68,219,000 after buying an additional 49,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Old Republic International in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,054,000. 70.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Old Republic International Company Profile

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.