Ameriprise Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,039 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.10% of Selective Insurance Group worth $5,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Algert Global LLC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 160.4% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 73,431 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,867,000 after purchasing an additional 45,235 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,607,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,052,142 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $98,396,000 after acquiring an additional 89,692 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,605,000. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on SIGI. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total transaction of $117,705.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,388,258.76. This represents a 7.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $87.51. The stock had a trading volume of 824,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,161. The business's 50 day moving average price is $88.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.22. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.13 and a 1 year high of $103.56. The company has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18 and a beta of 0.51.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.10). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 4.26%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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

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.