Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. $RYAN Position Reduced by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake in Ryan Specialty by 0.5% (sold 46,887 shares), leaving 10,231,737 shares — a 3.88% position valued at roughly $528.3 million, while hedge funds and other institutions own about 84.82% of the stock.
• Insider buying: Director Patrick G. Ryan, Jr. purchased 25,500 shares at an average price of $39.96 (~$1.02 million), increasing his holdings to 428,295 shares.
• Analyst sentiment has softened with multiple firms cutting price targets and ratings; the consensus across analysts is a "Hold" with a $48.12 target.

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. (NYSE:RYAN - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,231,737 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,887 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 3.88% of Ryan Specialty worth $528,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RYAN. Independent Franchise Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Ryan Specialty during the third quarter valued at about $95,798,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ryan Specialty by 76.9% during the third quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,066,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,800,000 after buying an additional 1,332,773 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ryan Specialty by 21.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,392,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,576,000 after buying an additional 765,428 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Ryan Specialty by 23.7% during the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 3,974,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,745,000 after buying an additional 762,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ryan Specialty during the third quarter valued at about $37,636,000. 84.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Patrick G. Ryan, Jr. acquired 25,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.96 per share, for a total transaction of $1,018,980.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 428,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,114,668.20. This represents a 6.33% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 52.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Ryan Specialty from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Ryan Specialty from $55.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Ryan Specialty from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ryan Specialty from $49.00 to $43.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Ryan Specialty from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $66.00 to $43.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.12.

Ryan Specialty Trading Down 3.9%

NYSE:RYAN opened at $29.63 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $36.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.33. Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.50 and a 52 week high of $72.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.04. Ryan Specialty had a return on equity of 41.33% and a net margin of 8.21%.The firm had revenue of $795.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ryan Specialty Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 12th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Ryan Specialty's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.53%.

About Ryan Specialty

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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