Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGIFree Report) by 176.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 50,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,426 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $3,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 398.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 52.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 550 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 177.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 591 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $94.79 on Friday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.78 and a 12-month high of $100.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $93.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.22.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGIGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 14.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 21.34%.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Michael H. Lanza sold 17,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.04, for a total value of $1,608,084.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,557,772.60. This represents a 50.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SIGI. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.33.

View Our Latest Research Report on Selective Insurance Group

Selective Insurance Group Profile

(Free Report)

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey. The organization traces its roots to a regional provider of property and casualty coverage and became a publicly traded holding company following its initial public offering in 1999. Since its formation, Selective has expanded through strategic acquisitions and organic growth initiatives to broaden its product offerings and strengthen its market position.

The company’s core business encompasses a broad range of property and casualty insurance products designed to serve both commercial and personal lines customers.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI)

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