Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 6,646 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,620,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,646 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.89% of Selective Insurance Group worth $619,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,711,000 after acquiring an additional 72,530 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 405,153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,801,000 after purchasing an additional 7,563 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 38.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 249.8% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 82,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,683,000 after purchasing an additional 58,808 shares during the period. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $626,000. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.71.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of SIGI opened at $91.79 on Monday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $86.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.86. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.13 and a fifty-two week high of $108.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.51 and a beta of 0.54.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 4.26%. Equities analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 47.20%.

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.