Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,149 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $947,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 4.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,416,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $132,949,000 after acquiring an additional 62,699 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 988,846 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $92,783,000 after buying an additional 11,327 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 16.4% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 717,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $66,984,000 after buying an additional 101,045 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 11.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 397,937 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,338,000 after buying an additional 41,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 12.0% in the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 313,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,292,000 after buying an additional 33,681 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $130,024.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,476,759.06. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ SIGI opened at $102.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $94.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.86. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.00 and a twelve month high of $109.58.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.29). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. Selective Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on SIGI shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.67.

Selective Insurance Group Profile

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.