Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 10,124 Shares of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. $RNR

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:RNR) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,105 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 10,124 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.20% of RenaissanceRe worth $24,999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 65.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 132 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of RenaissanceRe by 235.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of RenaissanceRe in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in RenaissanceRe by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 147 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at RenaissanceRe

In other news, EVP Robert Qutub sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.03, for a total transaction of $1,665,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 72,907 shares in the company, valued at $24,280,218.21. This represents a 6.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on RNR. TD Cowen lifted their target price on RenaissanceRe from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup upgraded RenaissanceRe from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $335.00 to $345.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Mizuho raised their price target on RenaissanceRe from $325.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on RenaissanceRe from $329.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, UBS Group set a $349.00 price objective on RenaissanceRe and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, RenaissanceRe currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $336.33.

RenaissanceRe Price Performance

Shares of RNR opened at $334.63 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. has a twelve month low of $231.17 and a twelve month high of $335.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $306.36 and a 200-day moving average of $299.40.

RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $12.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.72 by $1.20. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.57 billion. RenaissanceRe had a net margin of 23.65% and a return on equity of 23.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $12.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. will post 41.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

RenaissanceRe Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. RenaissanceRe’s payout ratio is 2.81%.

RenaissanceRe Company Profile

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance solutions, specializing in property catastrophe, casualty, and specialty lines. Established in 1993 and headquartered in Bermuda, the company trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RNR. With a focus on underwriting and risk assessment, RenaissanceRe offers tailored programs designed to help insurers and corporations manage exposure to natural disasters, liability claims, and other complex risks.

The company operates through two primary segments: Reinsurance and Insurance.