Ameriprise Financial Inc. Invests $356,000 in Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 22,989 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $356,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Donegal Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in DGICA. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $128,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $162,000. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $177,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $195,000. 27.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Donegal Group Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:DGICA traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.48. 85,219 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 89,209. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $703.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.02. Donegal Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.26 and a 52 week high of $21.12. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.27.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.38. Donegal Group had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 5.14%. The firm had revenue of $245.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $248.73 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Donegal Group Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.1825 per share. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. This is an increase from Donegal Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. Donegal Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.61%.

Insider Transactions at Donegal Group

In other Donegal Group news, VP William Albert Folmar sold 4,274 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.82, for a total transaction of $84,710.68. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 950 shares in the company, valued at $18,829. This represents a 81.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Vincent Anthony Viozzi sold 19,173 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.24, for a total transaction of $388,061.52. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,143 shares in the company, valued at $164,814.32. This trade represents a 70.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 141,839 shares of company stock worth $2,726,856 and sold 181,193 shares worth $3,584,302. Corporate insiders own 6.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on DGICA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Donegal Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Donegal Group from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Donegal Group Company Profile

Donegal Group Inc, an insurance holding company, provides property and casualty insurance to businesses and individuals. It operates through three segments: Investment Function, Personal Lines of Insurance, and Commercial Lines of Insurance. The company offers private passenger automobile policies that provide protection against liability for bodily injury and property damage arising from automobile accidents, as well as protection against loss from damage to automobiles; and homeowners policies, which provide coverage for damage to residences and their contents from a range of perils, including fire, lightning, windstorm, and theft, as well as liability of the insured arising from injury to other persons or their property.