SPC Financial Inc. Purchases 312 Shares of Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI)

SPC Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,012 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Old Republic International were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Old Republic International by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 114,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,134,000 after acquiring an additional 6,923 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Old Republic International during the fourth quarter worth $283,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Old Republic International by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,707 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Old Republic International during the fourth quarter worth $362,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Old Republic International in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 70.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Old Republic International

In other Old Republic International news, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 9,188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total value of $333,983.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,219,760.60. The trade was a 21.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Craig R. Smiddy sold 5,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.60, for a total value of $204,425.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,335,369.20. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,582 shares of company stock valued at $578,552. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Old Republic International Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE ORI opened at $37.77 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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 current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Old Republic International Co. has a 12 month low of $28.59 and a 12 month high of $39.27.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Old Republic International Co. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

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

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.