Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Stock Position Decreased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,202 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Selective Insurance Group worth $13,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 72,530 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 405,153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,801,000 after purchasing an additional 7,563 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 2,486.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 7,336 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,747 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 867,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $80,956,000 after purchasing an additional 21,374 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on SIGI. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 target price (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.71.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $81.87 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $88.97 and a 200-day moving average of $92.10. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43 and a beta of 0.61. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.13 and a twelve month high of $109.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.20%.

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.