Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 913,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 71,333 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.88% of Essent Group worth $52,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ESNT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Essent Group during the 1st quarter worth $332,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 66.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Essent Group by 215.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 86,087 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,687,000 after purchasing an additional 58,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP lifted its position in Essent Group by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 221,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,070,000 after acquiring an additional 33,698 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.00% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of ESNT stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.69. 659,486 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 677,138. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $58.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.21. Essent Group Ltd. has a 1-year low of $51.61 and a 1-year high of $65.34. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.81.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The financial services provider reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.03. Essent Group had a net margin of 57.29% and a return on equity of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $317.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $311.18 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Essent Group Ltd. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. Essent Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ESNT. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Compass Point set a $69.00 price target on shares of Essent Group and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Essent Group from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Essent Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Essent Group in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.71.

Insider Transactions at Essent Group

In other Essent Group news, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 2,500 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.79, for a total value of $146,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,608,788.35. The trade was a 8.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 1,999 shares of Essent Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $119,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 251,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,061,380. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,740 shares of company stock valued at $581,386 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Essent Group Company Profile

Essent Group Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. Its mortgage insurance products include primary, pool, and master policy. The company also provides information technology maintenance and development services; customer support-related services; underwriting consulting; and contract underwriting services, as well as risk management products and title insurance and settlement services.