State Street Corp Acquires 71,296 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,401,897 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 71,296 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned approximately 3.95% of Selective Insurance Group worth $224,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SIGI. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter worth $27,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 18.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,840 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the second quarter worth approximately $188,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SIGI shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. 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 company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.14.

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $130,024.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,476,759.06. This trade represents a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of SIGI traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $96.64. 43,052 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 352,813. The company has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.91 and a beta of 0.60. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.00 and a 1 year high of $109.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. Selective Insurance Group's revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.62 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 40.97%.

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.