Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,164,081 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,321 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.71% of Everest Group worth $424,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Everest Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,560,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,015,288,000 after buying an additional 43,793 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Everest Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $488,588,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Everest Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,281,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $464,533,000 after acquiring an additional 4,544 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Everest Group by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 642,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,994,000 after acquiring an additional 61,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Everest Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 415,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,652,000 after purchasing an additional 5,649 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.64% of the company’s stock.

Everest Group Price Performance

EG opened at $337.09 on Friday. Everest Group, Ltd. has a 1 year low of $327.37 and a 1 year high of $407.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $350.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $365.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported ($18.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Everest Group, Ltd. will post 47.93 EPS for the current year.

Everest Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Everest Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.47%.

Insider Transactions at Everest Group

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Everest Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $453.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $340.00 price objective (down from $425.00) on shares of Everest Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Everest Group from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Everest Group from $420.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Everest Group from $461.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $416.50.

Everest Group Company 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.