AGF Management Ltd. Purchases 2,888 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

AGF Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 13.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,888 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $2,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,472 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $717,735,000 after acquiring an additional 367,987 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 188.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,450,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $144,287,000 after acquiring an additional 947,147 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 988,846 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $92,783,000 after acquiring an additional 11,327 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,290,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 6.6% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 616,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $57,883,000 after purchasing an additional 38,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $90.95 on Friday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.00 and a 1 year high of $109.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.04.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The insurance provider reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($2.59). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.12% and a return on equity of 8.75%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $99.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.67.

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh acquired 2,000 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $85.85 per share, with a total value of $171,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,888.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO John J. Marchioni acquired 2,400 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $83.56 per share, with a total value of $200,544.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 136,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,397,333.32. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh acquired 2,000 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $85.85 per share, with a total value of $171,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,888.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Selective Insurance Group

Selective Insurance Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance products and services in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Standard Commercial Lines, Standard Personal Lines, E&S Lines, and Investments. It offers casualty insurance products that covers the financial consequences of employee injuries in the course of employment and bodily injury and/or property damage to a third party; property insurance products, which covers the accidental loss of an insured's real property, personal property, and/or earnings due to the property's loss; and flood insurance products.