Holocene Advisors LP Buys 19,542 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 61.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,549 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 19,542 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP owned approximately 0.08% of Selective Insurance Group worth $4,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 81.5% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew 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 purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

SIGI stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $99.20. 158,093 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 354,859. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.99. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.00 and a 1-year high of $109.58. The company has a market cap of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92 and a beta of 0.60. 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 (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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.38 dividend. This is a positive change from Selective Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SIGI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.14.

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $130,024.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.