Comerica Bank Raises Holdings in Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. $RYAN

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in Ryan Specialty Holdings by 59.1%, owning 332,741 shares valued at approximately $24.58 million after acquiring an additional 123,662 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have shown mixed perceptions on Ryan Specialty, with UBS lowering its price target from $84 to $80 while Goldman Sachs upgraded it from "neutral" to "buy" with a new target price of $81.
• Ryan Specialty recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.8%, although the company's dividend payout ratio is relatively high at 137.14%.

Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. (NYSE:RYAN - Free Report) by 59.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,741 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 123,662 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned 0.13% of Ryan Specialty worth $24,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RYAN. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Ryan Specialty by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,278 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Ryan Specialty by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ryan Specialty by 281.6% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 332 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Ryan Specialty by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,797 shares of the company's stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Ryan Specialty by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 25,500 shares of the company's stock worth $1,884,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 84.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark Stephen Katz sold 14,377 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.84, for a total transaction of $946,581.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at $73,543.28. The trade was a 92.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David P. Bolger sold 5,000 shares of Ryan Specialty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.80, for a total transaction of $354,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 71,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,059,863.60. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 52.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ryan Specialty Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of RYAN stock traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $56.67. 858,784 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,079,995. Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.77 and a 1 year high of $77.16. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $63.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88. The stock has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a PE ratio of 161.93, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.64.

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.66. Ryan Specialty had a return on equity of 48.70% and a net margin of 6.81%.The firm had revenue of $855.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $837.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. will post 2.29 EPS for the current year.

Ryan Specialty Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Ryan Specialty's dividend payout ratio is presently 137.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on RYAN. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Ryan Specialty from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Ryan Specialty in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ryan Specialty to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Ryan Specialty from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ryan Specialty from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ryan Specialty presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.83.

Ryan Specialty Company Profile

Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc operates as a service provider of specialty products and solutions for insurance brokers, agents, and carriers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Singapore. It offers distribution, underwriting, product development, administration, and risk management services by acting as a wholesale broker and a managing underwriter.