Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 504 Shares of Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG)

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its position in shares of Everest Group, Ltd. (NYSE:EG) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,048 shares of the company’s stock after selling 504 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Everest Group were worth $4,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EG. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Everest Group by 200.0% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 78 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Everest Group during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Everest Group in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Everest Group by 51.7% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Everest Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 92.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EG shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Everest Group from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $340.00 price target (down previously from $425.00) on shares of Everest Group in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upgraded Everest Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Everest Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $453.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Everest Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $420.00 to $429.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $411.89.

Everest Group Stock Down 1.0 %

EG stock opened at $341.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Everest Group, Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $336.49 and a fifty-two week high of $407.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $363.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $374.38. The company has a market cap of $14.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.65.

Everest Group (NYSE:EG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported ($18.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $11.64 by ($30.03). Everest Group had a net margin of 16.99% and a return on equity of 22.45%. On average, research analysts expect that Everest Group, Ltd. will post 36.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Everest Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $2.00 per share. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Everest Group’s payout ratio is presently 12.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Everest Group news, COO James Allan Williamson sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $370.00, for a total value of $74,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,553,330. This represents a 1.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.