Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Stake Raised by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 28.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,468,801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,216,801 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned about 9.00% of Selective Insurance Group worth $510,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 81.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 5.4% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 2,974 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,166 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $130,024.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,476,759.06. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $102.09 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49 and a beta of 0.57. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.00 and a 1-year high of $109.58. 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 announced its 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 return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 40.97%.

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.