BNP Paribas Financial Markets Purchases 13,210 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 59.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,491 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,210 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.06% of Selective Insurance Group worth $3,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,476,759.06. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ SIGI traded down $0.47 on Friday, hitting $98.73. 169,875 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 354,140. The company's 50-day moving average price is $96.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.00 and a 52-week high of $109.58. The company has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.61 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Selective Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SIGI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group presently has an average 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.