Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG - Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,832,677 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 167,614 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 1.91% of MGIC Investment worth $114,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in MGIC Investment by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,092,453 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $232,767,000 after purchasing an additional 73,851 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,495,115 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $130,289,000 after buying an additional 415,586 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MGIC Investment during the 4th quarter worth $85,908,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its holdings in MGIC Investment by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,837,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $43,575,000 after acquiring an additional 190,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in MGIC Investment by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,621,838 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,836,000 after acquiring an additional 98,369 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MGIC Investment

In other news, CAO Julie K. Sperber sold 4,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total value of $112,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 75,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,842,968.50. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America lowered MGIC Investment from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $25.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Compass Point reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MGIC Investment presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.75.

MGIC Investment Price Performance

Shares of MGIC Investment stock traded down $1.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.09. The stock had a trading volume of 3,169,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,255. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.96 and a beta of 1.28. MGIC Investment Co. has a 12 month low of $19.26 and a 12 month high of $26.56. The business's 50-day moving average is $24.33 and its 200 day moving average is $24.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The insurance provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.07. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 14.86% and a net margin of 63.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MGIC Investment Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. MGIC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.93%.

About MGIC Investment

MGIC Investment Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance, other mortgage credit risk management solutions, and ancillary services to lenders and government sponsored entities in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The company offers primary mortgage insurance that provides mortgage default protection on individual loans, as well as covers unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest, and various expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure.