Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 60,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $6,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 15.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,718 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 43,341 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,471,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 91.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 5,547 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 923,764 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,305,000 after acquiring an additional 18,508 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SIGI. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Friday, April 5th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.17.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $99.00 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $103.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.48. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.06 and a 1-year high of $109.58. The firm has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.55). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.49 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 24.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Brenda M. Hall sold 2,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.88, for a total value of $278,040.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,511 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,904.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Company 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.