9,965 Shares in Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) Purchased by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Old Republic International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Old Republic International in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Core Alternative Capital bought a new position in Old Republic International during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Old Republic International during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Old Republic International in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.92% of the company’s stock.

Old Republic International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORI opened at $37.47 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 0.88. Old Republic International Co. has a twelve month low of $28.59 and a twelve month high of $39.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.13.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The insurance provider reported $0.90 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Old Republic International Co. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Old Republic International Increases Dividend

The firm 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 positive change from Old Republic International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Old Republic International’s dividend payout ratio is 44.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 9,188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.35, for a total transaction of $333,983.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 33,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,219,760.60. This represents a 21.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jeffrey Lange sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $40,142.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 34,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,267,864.24. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.