AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 492,568 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 561.6%, purchasing an additional 492,568 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately $53.1 million.
• Selective Insurance Group reported $1.31 EPS, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55, with a revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Selective Insurance Group, with price targets ranging from $72.00 to $88.00, reflecting uncertainty in the stock's future performance.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 561.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 580,274 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 492,568 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.95% of Selective Insurance Group worth $53,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,756,225 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $618,465,000 after purchasing an additional 135,324 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 36.2% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,128,252 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $103,280,000 after buying an additional 299,925 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 891,871 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $81,642,000 after acquiring an additional 7,641 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 8.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 805,704 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $73,755,000 after acquiring an additional 62,503 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 564,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $52,796,000 after acquiring an additional 160,193 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Kelly Doherty purchased 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.00 per share, with a total value of $115,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 27,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,087,470. This trade represents a 5.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh bought 2,000 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $75.72 per share, for a total transaction of $151,440.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 25,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,915,337.40. The trade was a 8.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 10,602 shares of company stock valued at $817,440 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on SIGI shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Selective Insurance Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $86.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $87.33.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of SIGI stock traded down $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.01. The company had a trading volume of 384,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,667. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.75 and a 12 month high of $103.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The firm's fifty day moving average is $80.78 and its 200 day moving average is $85.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.44.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.24). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.50%.The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.10) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.88%.

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.