Lazard Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in NMI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:NMIH)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in NMI Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:NMIH - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,875 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.21% of NMI worth $6,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Interval Partners LP bought a new position in NMI in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,343,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in NMI during the fourth quarter valued at $2,161,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in NMI by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 131,403 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,830,000 after purchasing an additional 60,394 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in NMI by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,006 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Finally, BOKF NA increased its position in NMI by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 14,112 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 2,130 shares in the last quarter. 94.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NMI news, CEO Adam Pollitzer sold 57,166 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.54, for a total transaction of $2,088,845.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 329,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,038,651.10. The trade was a 14.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael Curry Montgomery sold 1,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.05, for a total value of $71,343.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 66,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,513,887.40. This trade represents a 2.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,235 shares of company stock worth $4,113,998. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NMIH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on NMI from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of NMI from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NMI from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of NMI from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.17.

NMI Price Performance

NMIH traded down $0.19 during trading on Monday, reaching $38.22. 337,627 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 545,995. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.60. NMI Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.59 and a 12-month high of $42.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.62.

NMI (NASDAQ:NMIH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $173.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.04 million. NMI had a net margin of 55.32% and a return on equity of 17.33%. NMI's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that NMI Holdings, Inc. will post 4.62 EPS for the current year.

NMI Company Profile

NMI Holdings, Inc provides private mortgage guaranty insurance services in the United States. The company offers mortgage insurance services, such as primary and pool insurance; and outsourced loan review services to mortgage loan originators. It serves national and regional mortgage banks, money center banks, credit unions, community banks, builder-owned mortgage lenders, internet-sourced lenders, and other non-bank lenders.