Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Bought by Ausbil Investment Management Ltd

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 73.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,446 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 3,145 shares during the quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,468,801 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $510,239,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216,801 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at about $37,726,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 112.7% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 427,180 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $42,667,000 after buying an additional 226,387 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,767,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 717,946 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $66,984,000 after acquiring an additional 101,045 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

SIGI traded up $0.60 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $83.37. 290,105 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 396,460. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $94.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.91 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.84 and a 1 year high of $109.58.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. As a group, research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on SIGI. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $114.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.00.

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.