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

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter worth about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 81.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 18.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,840 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on SIGI shares. Bank of America raised 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 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 note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.67.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

NASDAQ SIGI traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $99.33. 35,782 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 355,116. The company has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.81 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.94. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.00 and a 12-month high of $109.58.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.29). The firm 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 business earned $1.51 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.97%.

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,476,759.06. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.