RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR - Free Report) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 21,225 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,956 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in RenaissanceRe were worth $5,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in RenaissanceRe in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of RenaissanceRe in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in RenaissanceRe by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 121 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of RenaissanceRe by 1,587.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 135 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of RenaissanceRe by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 99.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO James Christopher Fraser sold 332 shares of RenaissanceRe stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.54, for a total value of $82,847.28. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,776,009.16. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on RNR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on RenaissanceRe from $279.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of RenaissanceRe from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of RenaissanceRe in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of RenaissanceRe from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on RenaissanceRe from $277.00 to $271.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, RenaissanceRe currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $283.60.

RenaissanceRe Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RNR traded down $1.41 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $245.00. 61,760 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 428,162. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $11.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $240.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.79. RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. has a 52-week low of $208.98 and a 52-week high of $300.00.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported ($1.49) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by ($1.17). The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.36 billion. RenaissanceRe had a net margin of 15.99% and a return on equity of 23.41%. RenaissanceRe's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $12.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. will post 26.04 EPS for the current year.

RenaissanceRe Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. RenaissanceRe's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.10%.

About RenaissanceRe

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Property, and Casualty and Specialty segments. The Property segment writes property catastrophe excess of loss reinsurance and excess of loss reinsurance to insure insurance and reinsurance companies against natural and man-made catastrophes, including hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, and tsunamis, as well as winter storms, freezes, floods, fires, windstorms, tornadoes, explosions, and acts of terrorism; and other property class of products, such as proportional reinsurance, property per risk, property reinsurance, binding facilities, and regional U.S.