90,224 Shares in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Bought by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 90,224 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,418,000. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Selective Insurance Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,468,801 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $510,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,801 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake 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 worth $132,949,000 after buying an additional 62,699 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 16.4% in the third 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 during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In related 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 value of $130,024.44. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ SIGI traded down $1.51 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $100.58. The stock had a trading volume of 265,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 357,198. The firm has a market cap of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04 and a beta of 0.57. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.00 and a fifty-two week high of $109.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $95.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.91.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. Selective Insurance Group's revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued 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 yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SIGI. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $101.67.

Selective Insurance Group Company 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.