Norges Bank Acquires New Position in Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated $RGA

Key Points

• Norges Bank initiated a new position in Reinsurance Group of America, buying 854,059 shares worth about $173.8 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represented roughly 1.30% of the company.
• Several analysts turned more positive on RGA, with recent upgrades and higher price targets from firms including Barclays and Wall Street Zen. The stock now carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $251.25.
• RGA reported strong quarterly results, posting $6.97 EPS versus expectations of $6.03 and revenue of $6.49 billion, up 23.5% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, implying a 1.9% yield.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 854,059 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $173,767,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.30% of Reinsurance Group of America at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Reinsurance Group of America by 632.1% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 205 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 95.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on RGA shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Reinsurance Group of America from $208.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Reinsurance Group of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on Reinsurance Group of America from $256.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Reinsurance Group of America from $216.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $251.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ronald Herrmann sold 7,000 shares of Reinsurance Group of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.58, for a total value of $1,474,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $829,264.04. This trade represents a 64.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Hayden sold 414 shares of Reinsurance Group of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.95, for a total value of $88,989.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,502,987.55. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Reinsurance Group of America Price Performance

Shares of Reinsurance Group of America stock opened at $195.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $207.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.47. Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated has a one year low of $165.52 and a one year high of $229.21.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The insurance provider reported $6.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.94. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. Reinsurance Group of America had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 4.92%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.66 EPS. Analysts forecast that Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated will post 26.88 EPS for the current year.

Reinsurance Group of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.93 dividend. This represents a $3.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. Reinsurance Group of America's payout ratio is 20.15%.

About Reinsurance Group of America

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated NYSE: RGA is a leading global provider of life and health reinsurance solutions. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, RGA partners with primary insurance companies to help them manage risk, improve capital efficiency and develop innovative products. The company's offerings span traditional risk transfer, financial solutions and facultative underwriting services, enabling clients to address a wide range of mortality, longevity, morbidity and critical-illness exposures.

RGA's product suite includes life reinsurance, living benefits reinsurance, structured reinsurance and financial solutions that support product innovation and capital management.

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