Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 404,349 Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 404,349 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $37,726,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.67% of Selective Insurance Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SIGI. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $318,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 81.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 12.3% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 8,571 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $804,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 262.8% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 11,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 8,068 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 3.6% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of SIGI stock opened at $99.48 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.68 and its 200 day moving average is $92.94. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.00 and a 1-year high of $109.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81 and a beta of 0.60.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.29). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.38 dividend. 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 yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 40.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.67.

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,476,759.06. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.