Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,416,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,699 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.33% of Selective Insurance Group worth $132,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 147,465 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,670,000 after acquiring an additional 10,743 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,041,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,468,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 87,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,685,000 after acquiring an additional 13,237 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 15,444.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 17,607 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SIGI shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $104.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of 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. One research 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.com, Selective Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.67.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Down 1.8 %

Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $90.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.47. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.00 and a 12 month high of $109.58.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The insurance provider reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($2.59). The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 5.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Selective Insurance Group 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.