Man Group plc Grows Stock Holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Man Group plc grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 63.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 85,532 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,250 shares during the period. Man Group plc’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $7,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 957.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $180,000. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.00.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 0.6%

Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $89.66 on Tuesday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.13 and a fifty-two week high of $103.56. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.68. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.84 and a beta of 0.51.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.10). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were 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 owns 15,946 shares in the company, 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 at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by 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.