Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,354,454 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 17,777 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.23% of Selective Insurance Group worth $126,669,000 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. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 52,742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,484,000. Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $530,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 148,341 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,871,000 after purchasing an additional 33,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $337,000. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SIGI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price target (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total value of $117,705.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,388,258.76. The trade was a 7.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI stock opened at $87.57 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20 and a beta of 0.45. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.13 and a 1 year high of $103.60.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by ($0.13). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.42%.

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.