Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Sold by Champlain Investment Partners LLC

Champlain Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 54.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 445,379 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 541,236 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.73% of Selective Insurance Group worth $41,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,416,957 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $132,949,000 after purchasing an additional 62,699 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 988,846 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $92,783,000 after buying an additional 11,327 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 867,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $80,956,000 after acquiring an additional 21,374 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in 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 valued at $66,984,000 after acquiring an additional 101,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 112.7% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 427,180 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $42,667,000 after acquiring an additional 226,387 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SIGI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised Selective Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $101.67.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of SIGI traded up $1.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.82. 396,006 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 382,218. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.00 and a 1 year high of $109.58. The firm's fifty day moving average is $94.41 and its 200-day moving average is $92.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This is a positive change from Selective Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $130,024.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,476,759.06. This trade represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.