Bridgewater Associates LP Makes New Investment in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,668 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

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

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

SIGI stock traded down $1.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $87.32. The stock had a trading volume of 98,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,124. The stock's 50 day moving average is $86.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.36. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.13 and a 52 week high of $103.60. The firm has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.89 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 4.26%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $93.00 target price (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.17.

Selective Insurance Group 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.