Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 4,544 Shares of Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,281,611 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,544 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 2.98% of Everest Group worth $464,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EG. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Everest Group by 152.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,225,000 after buying an additional 13,687 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Everest Group by 19.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 78,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,747,000 after purchasing an additional 12,791 shares during the last quarter. Brophy Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Everest Group in the third quarter worth $749,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Everest Group by 5.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,117,000 after purchasing an additional 2,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Everest Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 92.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Everest Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EG opened at $363.91 on Tuesday. Everest Group, Ltd. has a 12 month low of $327.37 and a 12 month high of $407.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $351.46 and a 200-day moving average of $366.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $15.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.61.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported ($18.39) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.64 by ($30.03). Everest Group had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 9.04%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Everest Group, Ltd. will post 47.93 EPS for the current year.

Everest Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. Everest Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Everest Group news, Director Geraldine Losquadro sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.63, for a total transaction of $540,945.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,279 shares in the company, valued at $4,428,175.77. This trade represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EG has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Everest Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $453.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Everest Group from $420.00 to $434.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Everest Group from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Everest Group from $461.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $340.00 target price (down from $425.00) on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $416.50.

Everest Group Profile

Everest Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segment, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance; and specialty lines of business through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies in the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.