Beazley (LON:BEZ) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Shares of Beazley plc (LON:BEZ) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 808.43 ($10.47) and traded as high as GBX 885.50 ($11.46). Beazley shares last traded at GBX 882.50 ($11.43), with a volume of 146,590,563 shares changing hands.

Beazley Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 853.83 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 808.43. The firm has a market capitalization of £6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.68.

Beazley (LON:BEZ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The company reported GBX 137 ($1.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Beazley had a net margin of 22.82% and a return on equity of 32.60%. Equities analysts anticipate that Beazley plc will post 101.6172507 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Beazley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a GBX 25 ($0.32) dividend. This is a boost from Beazley’s previous dividend of $14.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.77%. Beazley’s payout ratio is presently 8.76%.

Beazley announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 4th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Adrian Cox sold 27,772 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 902 ($11.68), for a total transaction of £250,503.44 ($324,318.28). 2.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Beazley

Beazley plc provides risk insurance and reinsurance solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through Cyber Risks, Digital, MAP Risks, Property Risks, and Specialty Risks segments. The Cyber Risk segment underwrites cyber and technology risks.