Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 19,254 Shares of Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Old Republic International Co. (NYSE:ORI - Free Report) by 336.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,982 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,254 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Old Republic International were worth $980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,176,002 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $114,940,000 after acquiring an additional 400,384 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Old Republic International in the 4th quarter valued at about $105,581,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,349,942 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $85,044,000 after acquiring an additional 490,788 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Old Republic International by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,885,011 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $68,219,000 after acquiring an additional 49,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Old Republic International in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,054,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ORI. Piper Sandler set a $42.00 price objective on Old Republic International in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Old Republic International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James set a $42.00 price objective on Old Republic International and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Carolyn Monroe sold 10,601 shares of Old Republic International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.38, for a total value of $396,265.38. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,336,521.90. This trade represents a 22.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Old Republic International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ORI traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $36.70. 1,173,187 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,205,511. The company has a market capitalization of $9.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Old Republic International Co. has a 52-week low of $29.51 and a 52-week high of $39.84. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $37.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.08.

Old Republic International (NYSE:ORI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Old Republic International had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 10.36%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. The firm's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Old Republic International Co. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Old Republic International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. Old Republic International's payout ratio is 47.15%.

Old Republic International Profile

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.