Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Grows Position in Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. $RYAN

Key Points

• Stephens Investment Management Group increased its stake in Ryan Specialty Holdings by 25.7% in the first quarter, ending with 2.42 million shares valued at about $81.8 million.
• Company insiders were also buying: Chairman Patrick G. Ryan purchased 120,000 shares, and Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 7,500 shares, bringing total insider buying last quarter to $4.26 million.
• Ryan Specialty reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.47 versus $0.43 expected and revenue up 15.2% year over year, while the board also authorized a $300 million share repurchase program.

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. (NYSE:RYAN - Free Report) by 25.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,424,337 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 495,243 shares during the quarter. Ryan Specialty comprises 1.1% of Stephens Investment Management Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned about 0.92% of Ryan Specialty worth $81,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC bought a new stake in Ryan Specialty during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,818,000. Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Ryan Specialty in the 4th quarter worth $2,082,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ryan Specialty by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 535,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,194,000 after buying an additional 53,810 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ryan Specialty during the 4th quarter valued at $20,776,000. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ryan Specialty during the 4th quarter worth $2,823,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Patrick G. Ryan bought 120,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.50 per share, for a total transaction of $3,900,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman owned 13,817,859 shares in the company, valued at approximately $449,080,417.50. This trade represents a 0.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. bought 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $35.16 per share, with a total value of $263,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 117,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,146,524.28. This trade represents a 6.79% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 130,715 shares of company stock valued at $4,263,590 in the last quarter. Insiders own 52.03% of the company's stock.

Ryan Specialty Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:RYAN opened at $42.02 on Friday. Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.28 and a 12-month high of $67.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $34.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.61.

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.04. Ryan Specialty had a return on equity of 41.33% and a net margin of 8.21%.The business had revenue of $795.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $781.44 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Ryan Specialty's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ryan Specialty Holdings Inc. will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Ryan Specialty announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ryan Specialty Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 12th. Ryan Specialty's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on RYAN. Barclays reduced their target price on Ryan Specialty from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho set a $35.00 price target on Ryan Specialty in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Ryan Specialty in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Ryan Specialty from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Ryan Specialty from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.41.

Ryan Specialty Company 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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