American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 774 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,257 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.06% of Selective Insurance Group worth $3,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 188.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,450,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $144,287,000 after acquiring an additional 947,147 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,468,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,472 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $717,735,000 after purchasing an additional 367,987 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 2,195.0% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 257,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,594,000 after purchasing an additional 246,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 27.5% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 578,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $63,155,000 after purchasing an additional 124,860 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $91.27 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.88 and a 200 day moving average of $95.16. The company has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.56. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.00 and a 12-month high of $109.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.74%.

Insider Activity

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CEO John J. Marchioni purchased 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $83.56 per share, with a total value of $200,544.00. Following the acquisition, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, 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 acquired 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $83.56 per share, with a total value of $200,544.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 136,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,397,333.32. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SIGI. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $104.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.67.

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.