First Eagle Investment Management LLC Acquires 25,623 Shares of MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 758,879 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,623 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MGIC Investment were worth $17,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MTG. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 190.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 30,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 19,861 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 65.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in MGIC Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $332,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in MGIC Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at about $635,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the period. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MGIC Investment

In other news, CAO Julie K. Sperber sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total value of $112,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 75,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,842,968.50. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

MGIC Investment Trading Down 0.5 %

MTG opened at $22.48 on Friday. MGIC Investment Co. has a one year low of $19.26 and a one year high of $26.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The insurance provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.07. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 14.86% and a net margin of 63.18%. Analysts predict that MGIC Investment Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

MGIC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. MGIC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MTG shares. Bank of America cut MGIC Investment from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $26.00 to $25.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays increased their target price on MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Compass Point reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price target (up previously from $24.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MGIC Investment presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.75.

MGIC Investment Profile

MGIC Investment Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance, other mortgage credit risk management solutions, and ancillary services to lenders and government sponsored entities in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The company offers primary mortgage insurance that provides mortgage default protection on individual loans, as well as covers unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest, and various expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure.