California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 6,842,918 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Selective Insurance Group stake by 9,333.8%, purchasing 6.84 million additional shares. It now owns about 11.61% of SIGI, valued at approximately $670.9 million.
• Selective Insurance reported quarterly EPS of $1.95, beating analyst estimates of $1.66, while revenue reached $1.39 billion versus expectations of $1.30 billion.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook, with SIGI carrying an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $100.33. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43, equivalent to a 1.9% annualized yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 9,333.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,916,231 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,842,918 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 11.61% of Selective Insurance Group worth $670,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 398.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 389 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 177.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 591 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SIGI. Weiss Ratings cut Selective Insurance Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Selective Insurance Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $97.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.33.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $90.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $100.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $94.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.95. The firm has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.29.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.29. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 14.51%. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 8.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is 21.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael Lanza sold 17,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.04, for a total value of $1,608,084.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,557,772.60. This trade represents a 50.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Company Profile

Selective Insurance Group, Inc NASDAQ: SIGI is an insurance holding company that provides property and casualty insurance through its operating subsidiaries. Founded in 1926 and headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey, the company serves commercial and personal customers through a network of independent insurance agents.

Selective's products include commercial automobile, property, general liability, workers' compensation and other coverage designed for businesses, municipalities and professionals.

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