Slagle Financial LLC Trims Stake in Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI)

Slagle Financial LLC lowered its stake in shares of Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,594 shares during the period. Slagle Financial LLC’s holdings in Old Republic International were worth $248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new position in Old Republic International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $259,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 34,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Old Republic International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $105,581,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in Old Republic International during the fourth quarter worth about $4,034,000. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Old Republic International during the 4th quarter worth about $1,477,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Old Republic International Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE ORI opened at $39.08 on Friday. 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 $39.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.38.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Old Republic International Co. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Old Republic International’s payout ratio is currently 44.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Thomas Dare sold 27,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total transaction of $1,002,180.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 46,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,699,294. This represents a 37.10 % 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. Also, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 9,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total transaction of $333,983.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,556 shares in the company, valued at $1,219,760.60. The trade was a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,039 shares of company stock valued at $1,580,733. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Old Republic International

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.