Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) Stock Price

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $71.00 to $68.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

RYAN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ryan Specialty from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Ryan Specialty from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $74.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ryan Specialty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Ryan Specialty in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ryan Specialty from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ryan Specialty currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.83.

Ryan Specialty Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Ryan Specialty stock opened at $59.8020 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 170.87, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.88. Ryan Specialty has a 12-month low of $55.77 and a 12-month high of $77.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.58.

Ryan Specialty (NYSE:RYAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66. Ryan Specialty had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 48.70%. The firm had revenue of $855.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $837.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ryan Specialty will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ryan Specialty Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Ryan Specialty’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.14%.

Insider Activity at Ryan Specialty

In related news, EVP Mark Stephen Katz sold 14,377 shares of Ryan Specialty stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.84, for a total transaction of $946,581.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,117 shares in the company, valued at $73,543.28. This trade represents a 92.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David P. Bolger sold 5,000 shares of Ryan Specialty stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.80, for a total transaction of $354,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 71,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,059,863.60. This represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 52.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ryan Specialty

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ryan Specialty by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,271,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,750,000 after purchasing an additional 390,924 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ryan Specialty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,852,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ryan Specialty by 66.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,051,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,218,147 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Ryan Specialty by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,814,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,337,000 after purchasing an additional 29,279 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ryan Specialty by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,378,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,706,000 after purchasing an additional 12,573 shares during the period. 84.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ryan Specialty

Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc operates as a service provider of specialty products and solutions for insurance brokers, agents, and carriers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Singapore. It offers distribution, underwriting, product development, administration, and risk management services by acting as a wholesale broker and a managing underwriter.