M&T Bank Corp Takes Position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 36.2% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,128,252 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $103,280,000 after purchasing an additional 299,925 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,052,142 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $98,396,000 after purchasing an additional 89,692 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth $93,409,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 564,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $52,796,000 after purchasing an additional 160,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 478,609 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,760,000 after purchasing an additional 73,456 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $89.53 on Friday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $78.13 and a one year high of $103.56. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.10). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Selective Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.42%.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total value of $117,705.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,388,258.76. This represents a 7.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SIGI. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.00.

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.