Panagora Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. $SAFT

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired 19,577 shares of Safety Insurance Group, valued at approximately $1.54 million, increasing its ownership to 0.13% as of its latest SEC filing.
• Safety Insurance Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.92, yielding 5.1%, scheduled for payment on September 15 to shareholders on record as of September 2.
• Despite a missed earnings estimate of $1.60 per share, Safety Insurance reported $1.45 per share with a revenue of $345.83 million for its last quarter.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 19,577 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,544,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Safety Insurance Group as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,585 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 166,223 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,697,000 after buying an additional 10,768 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,790 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Safety Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $453,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth about $181,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Safety Insurance Group

In other Safety Insurance Group news, Director Dennis J. Langwell purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $72.39 per share, for a total transaction of $144,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $579,120. This trade represents a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Safety Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of SAFT stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $72.90. The stock had a trading volume of 106,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 68,973. Safety Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.76 and a one year high of $90.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $73.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.15). Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 8.34%. The firm had revenue of $345.83 million during the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from Safety Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Safety Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Safety Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th.

Safety Insurance Group Company Profile

Safety Insurance Group, Inc provides private passenger and commercial automobile, and homeowner insurance in the United States. The company's private passenger automobile policies offer coverage for bodily injury and property damage to others, no-fault personal injury coverage for the insured/insured's car occupants, and physical damage coverage for an insured's own vehicle for collision or other perils.