Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 21,211 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 8.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 236,129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 21,211 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.39% of Selective Insurance Group worth $22,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 81.5% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth $75,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 245.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $90.98 on Tuesday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.00 and a twelve month high of $109.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.67.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The insurance provider reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($2.59). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.12% and a return on equity of 8.75%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SIGI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, CEO John J. Marchioni bought 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $83.56 per share, for a total transaction of $200,544.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 136,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,397,333.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.85 per share, with a total value of $171,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,651 shares in the company, valued at $1,772,888.35. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John J. Marchioni bought 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $83.56 per share, with a total value of $200,544.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 136,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,397,333.32. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.