Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,756,225 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 135,324 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.12% of Selective Insurance Group worth $618,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SIGI. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 58.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 116.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 928 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SIGI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Selective Insurance Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $75.72 per share, with a total value of $151,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 25,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,915,337.40. This represents a 8.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Kelly Doherty acquired 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.00 per share, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 27,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,087,470. This represents a 5.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 10,602 shares of company stock valued at $817,440 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $79.38 on Thursday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.75 and a 52-week high of $103.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.04. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.47.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.50%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.10) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

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

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.