Arizona State Retirement System Lowers Holdings in Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI)

Arizona State Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 71,269 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,090 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Old Republic International were worth $2,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ORI. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Old Republic International by 162.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 610,150 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $21,612,000 after acquiring an additional 377,605 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Old Republic International during the 3rd quarter worth about $7,965,000. Orca Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Old Republic International during the 4th quarter worth about $5,209,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Old Republic International by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 454,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,209,000 after acquiring an additional 128,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Old Republic International during the 4th quarter worth about $3,573,000. 70.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Old Republic International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Old Republic International Stock Down 2.1 %

ORI opened at $36.52 on Tuesday. Old Republic International Co. has a twelve month low of $28.59 and a twelve month high of $39.27. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $36.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.20. The company has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.83.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.19. Old Republic International had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 20.32%. Sell-side analysts expect that Old Republic International Co. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Old Republic International’s dividend payout ratio is 44.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Old Republic International news, CEO Craig R. Smiddy sold 5,296 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.60, for a total value of $204,425.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,335,369.20. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jeffrey Lange sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction of $40,142.88. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 34,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,267,864.24. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,582 shares of company stock worth $578,552 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Old Republic International 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.