Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. $RYAN

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its stake in Ryan Specialty Holdings by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 2.15 million shares valued at about $111.1 million.
• Ryan Specialty reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $0.47 versus the $0.43 estimate and revenue of $795.23 million, up 15.2% year over year.
• The company approved a $300 million share repurchase plan and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.6%.

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. (NYSE:RYAN - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,151,206 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 60,847 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.82% of Ryan Specialty worth $111,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Ryan Specialty by 0.9% in the third quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 21,119 shares of the company's stock worth $1,190,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Ryan Specialty by 0.6% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 32,797 shares of the company's stock worth $1,848,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Ryan Specialty by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,467 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Ryan Specialty by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 25,355 shares of the company's stock worth $1,309,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Ryan Specialty by 65.4% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 612 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Ryan Specialty Stock Performance

Shares of RYAN stock opened at $32.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $29.28 and a fifty-two week high of $70.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.63. The company has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.30, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.64.

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $795.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.44 million. Ryan Specialty had a return on equity of 41.33% and a net margin of 8.21%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Ryan Specialty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. Ryan Specialty's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.53%.

Ryan Specialty declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on RYAN shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ryan Specialty from $45.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ryan Specialty from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $35.00 price objective on Ryan Specialty in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Ryan Specialty from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $43.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Ryan Specialty from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ryan Specialty currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.76.

Insider Activity at Ryan Specialty

In other Ryan Specialty news, EVP Mark Stephen Katz bought 3,215 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $31.07 per share, for a total transaction of $99,890.05. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 4,332 shares in the company, valued at $134,595.24. The trade was a 287.82% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 52.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ryan Specialty Profile

Ryan Specialty Group, Inc NYSE: RYAN is a global specialty insurance and reinsurance platform that partners with a network of insurers and reinsurers to deliver tailored risk solutions. The company focuses on complex and large-scale risks across multiple industry sectors, leveraging its underwriting expertise to structure coverage programs that meet clients' unique needs.

Ryan Specialty's core offerings span a diverse range of specialty lines, including casualty, property, professional liability, marine and energy, program administration, and sports and entertainment.

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