32,147 Shares in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Bought by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. bought 32,147 shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. for approximately $2.94 million, marking a new stake for the investment fund.
• Selective Insurance reported $1.31 earnings per share for the last quarter, falling short of estimates by $0.24, while generating revenues of $1.29 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.96%, scheduled to be paid out on September 2nd.

Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 32,147 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,943,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.05% of Selective Insurance Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 58.7% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 673 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 116.3% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 928 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph Eppers acquired 1,402 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $76.82 per share, for a total transaction of $107,701.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 12,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $959,635.44. The trade was a 12.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $75.72 per share, for a total transaction of $151,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 25,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,915,337.40. This represents a 8.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 3.5%

NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $77.63 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.33. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.75 and a 1 year high of $103.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.46 and a 200-day moving average of $87.30.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($1.10) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SIGI has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $90.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $92.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $92.33.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SIGI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.