LPL Financial LLC Has $5.36 Million Stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,288 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.10% of Selective Insurance Group worth $5,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings 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 valued at $103,280,000 after purchasing an additional 299,925 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings 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 valued at $98,396,000 after purchasing an additional 89,692 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $52,796,000 after purchasing an additional 160,193 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 19.5% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 460,339 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,139,000 after purchasing an additional 75,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 314,272 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,391,000 after purchasing an additional 10,360 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, CEO John J. Marchioni acquired 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $77.89 per share, with a total value of $249,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 139,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,887,074.75. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Kelly Doherty acquired 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $77.00 per share, with a total value of $115,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,087,470. This trade represents a 5.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 10,602 shares of company stock valued at $817,440 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $78.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.24 and a 200-day moving average of $86.08. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.47. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.75 and a 52-week high of $103.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.50% and a return on equity of 12.61%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.10) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $87.33.

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.