Franklin Resources Inc. Has $464.53 Million Stake in Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,281,611 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,544 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Everest Group were worth $464,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EG. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Everest Group by 108.5% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 12,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,000 after acquiring an additional 6,466 shares during the period. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in Everest Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $506,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in Everest Group by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 8,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,078,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Everest Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Everest Group by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 2,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.64% of the company’s stock.

Everest Group Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE EG opened at $363.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.61. Everest Group, Ltd. has a twelve month low of $327.37 and a twelve month high of $407.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $351.46 and its 200 day moving average is $366.27.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported ($18.39) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.64 by ($30.03). Everest Group had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 9.04%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Everest Group, Ltd. will post 47.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Everest Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Everest Group’s payout ratio is 25.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Everest Group from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $340.00 price target (down previously from $425.00) on shares of Everest Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Everest Group from $420.00 to $434.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered Everest Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $453.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Everest Group from $461.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $416.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Everest Group news, Director Geraldine Losquadro sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.63, for a total value of $540,945.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,428,175.77. The trade was a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

About Everest Group

Everest Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segment, Insurance and Reinsurance. The Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance; and specialty lines of business through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies in the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.