Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,620,901 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,646 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.89% of Selective Insurance Group worth $619,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 957.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 444 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 485 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $180,000. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SIGI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.71.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

NASDAQ SIGI traded up $0.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $92.59. 140,469 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 412,791. The company has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75 and a beta of 0.54. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.13 and a 12-month high of $106.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. As a group, analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is 47.20%.

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.