Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 93,762 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 39.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,367 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 93,762 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Selective Insurance Group worth $13,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,711,000 after acquiring an additional 72,530 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2,486.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 7,336 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 4.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,416,957 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $132,949,000 after purchasing an additional 62,699 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 170,281 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,887,000 after buying an additional 14,004 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 867,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $80,956,000 after buying an additional 21,374 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

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 stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $130,024.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,476,759.06. The trade was a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised Selective Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price 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 target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $102.14.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI traded down $1.32 on Friday, reaching $93.82. The company had a trading volume of 168,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,354. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.00. 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 twelve month low of $81.00 and a twelve month high of $109.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29 and a beta of 0.60.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.51 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Selective Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 40.97%.

Selective Insurance Group 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.