Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 38.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,747 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter worth approximately $345,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,586,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $148,048,000 after purchasing an additional 26,880 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,711,000 after purchasing an additional 72,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 8.4% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 82,368 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,685,000 after purchasing an additional 6,353 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $93.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19 and a beta of 0.60. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.00 and a fifty-two week high of $109.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.29). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 40.97%.

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $130,024.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,476,759.06. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SIGI. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.14.

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.