Wells Fargo & Company MN Boosts Stake in MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG)

Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG - Free Report) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,987 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,721 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN's holdings in MGIC Investment were worth $2,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTG. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,621,838 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,836,000 after buying an additional 98,369 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 91,690 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 10,864 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 40,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $958,000 after buying an additional 10,130 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 311.0% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 66,493 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 50,316 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of MGIC Investment in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,166,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MTG shares. Compass Point reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at MGIC Investment

In related news, CAO Julie K. Sperber sold 4,600 shares of MGIC Investment stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total transaction of $112,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,842,968.50. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MGIC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of MTG stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,986,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,803,889. The stock has a market cap of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.45. MGIC Investment Co. has a 52-week low of $20.02 and a 52-week high of $26.56.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The insurance provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.07. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 14.86% and a net margin of 63.18%. Research analysts anticipate that MGIC Investment Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. MGIC Investment's payout ratio is currently 17.93%.

MGIC Investment announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, April 24th that allows the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 12.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About MGIC Investment

MGIC Investment Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance, other mortgage credit risk management solutions, and ancillary services to lenders and government sponsored entities in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The company offers primary mortgage insurance that provides mortgage default protection on individual loans, as well as covers unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest, and various expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure.