Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) CEO Craig R. Smiddy Sells 5,296 Shares

Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) CEO Craig R. Smiddy sold 5,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.60, for a total value of $204,425.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,222 shares in the company, valued at $5,335,369.20. This trade represents a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Old Republic International Stock Performance

Shares of Old Republic International stock opened at $37.77 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.14. The company has a market capitalization of $9.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Old Republic International Co. has a 52 week low of $28.59 and a 52 week high of $39.27.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Old Republic International Co. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Old Republic International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ORI. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Old Republic International during the 3rd quarter worth $246,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Old Republic International by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 229,932 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,144,000 after purchasing an additional 18,397 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Old Republic International by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,576 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its stake in Old Republic International by 27.4% in the third quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 19,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 4,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Old Republic International by 2.9% in the third quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 126,428 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,478,000 after buying an additional 3,533 shares during the last quarter. 70.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.