Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on RGA. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Reinsurance Group of America from a moderate buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Reinsurance Group of America from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Reinsurance Group of America from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Reinsurance Group of America from $220.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Reinsurance Group of America from $194.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $226.62.

Reinsurance Group of America Trading Up 1.0 %

Reinsurance Group of America stock opened at $216.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $212.62 and a 200 day moving average of $206.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 0.91. Reinsurance Group of America has a 12-month low of $143.96 and a 12-month high of $227.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE:RGA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The insurance provider reported $5.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $4.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.07 billion. Reinsurance Group of America had a net margin of 4.01% and a return on equity of 15.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Reinsurance Group of America will post 21.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Reinsurance Group of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This is an increase from Reinsurance Group of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Reinsurance Group of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William L. Hutton sold 1,209 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.97, for a total transaction of $264,734.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,705,812.29. This represents a 0.00 % 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. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Reinsurance Group of America

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RGA. Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Reinsurance Group of America by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 4,937 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 1,989 shares during the last quarter. LM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Reinsurance Group of America in the fourth quarter worth $253,000. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP increased its stake in Reinsurance Group of America by 251.1% in the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 24,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 17,779 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Reinsurance Group of America in the fourth quarter worth $304,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Reinsurance Group of America in the fourth quarter worth $393,000. 95.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Reinsurance Group of America Company Profile

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated engages in reinsurance business. The company offers individual and group life and health insurance products, such as term life, credit life, universal life, whole life, group life and health, joint and last survivor insurance, critical illness, disability, and longevity products; asset-intensive and financial reinsurance products; and other capital motivated solutions.