Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 12,849 Shares of Safety Insurance Group, Inc. $SAFT

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Safety Insurance Group stake by 67.1% in the second quarter, selling 12,849 shares and retaining 6,306 shares valued at approximately $472,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 81.04% of the company.
• A major shareholder sold 1.24 million shares for roughly $127.8 million, reducing their position by 72.38%; insiders have sold about $134.7 million worth of stock over the past 90 days.
• Safety Insurance Group beat quarterly EPS estimates with $2.03 per share versus $2.00 expected and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, equivalent to a 3.6% yield. The stock was trading near its 52-week high at $103.35.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Free Report) by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,306 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 12,849 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Safety Insurance Group were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 353.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 306,554 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $23,884,000 after acquiring an additional 238,946 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 304,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $23,741,000 after acquiring an additional 117,261 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 224.8% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 139,755 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $9,879,000 after acquiring an additional 96,728 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 175.5% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 116,269 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $8,219,000 after acquiring an additional 74,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 388.0% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 86,026 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,081,000 after acquiring an additional 68,399 shares in the last quarter. 81.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 1,240,352 shares of Safety Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.07, for a total transaction of $127,843,080.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 473,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,791,998.09. The trade was a 72.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,316,109 shares of company stock worth $134,654,987. Company insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Safety Insurance Group Trading Down 0.2%

Safety Insurance Group stock opened at $103.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.16 and a 200-day moving average of $77.63. Safety Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $67.04 and a one year high of $103.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 0.17.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $325.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $325.68 million. Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 5.33%. On average, equities analysts expect that Safety Insurance Group, Inc. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Safety Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Safety Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Safety Insurance Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Safety Insurance Group Company Profile

Safety Insurance Group, Inc is a publicly traded property and casualty insurance holding company incorporated in Massachusetts in 1994. Its principal subsidiary, Safety Insurance Company, traces its roots back to 1923 and has since evolved into a regional personal lines insurer. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol SAFT.

Safety Insurance Group focuses primarily on private passenger automobile and homeowners insurance products, along with dwelling fire, umbrella liability, and certain commercial auto coverages.

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