Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated $RGA Holdings Boosted by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management increased its RGA stake by 2,626.6% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 195,794 shares valued at approximately $40 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.11% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with RGA receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $255. Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Barclays and Evercore all maintained or issued bullish ratings.
• RGA reported quarterly EPS of $6.97, exceeding estimates of $6.03, while revenue rose 23.5% year over year to $6.49 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.93 per share, implying a 1.5% yield.

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA - Free Report) by 2,626.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,794 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 188,613 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.30% of Reinsurance Group of America worth $39,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Reinsurance Group of America in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Tobam raised its position in Reinsurance Group of America by 244.7% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 162 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Reinsurance Group of America during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Reinsurance Group of America in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Reinsurance Group of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Reinsurance Group of America from $261.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Reinsurance Group of America from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Reinsurance Group of America in a research report on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $270.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Reinsurance Group of America from $268.00 to $278.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.00.

Insider Activity at Reinsurance Group of America

In other Reinsurance Group of America news, EVP Ronald Herrmann sold 7,000 shares of Reinsurance Group of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.58, for a total value of $1,474,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,938 shares in the company, valued at $829,264.04. The trade was a 64.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John W. Hayden sold 414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.95, for a total transaction of $88,989.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,949 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Reinsurance Group of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RGA opened at $242.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 0.47. Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $165.52 and a 1 year high of $245.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.42.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The insurance provider reported $6.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.94. Reinsurance Group of America had a return on equity of 13.16% and a net margin of 4.92%.The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated will post 26.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Reinsurance Group of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. Reinsurance Group of America's payout ratio is currently 20.15%.

Reinsurance Group of America Profile

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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