Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group to approximately $81.64 million by acquiring an additional 7,641 shares in the first quarter.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.31 per share, missing analysts' expectations by $0.24, with revenues of $1.29 billion falling short of the $1.32 billion forecast.
• Selective Insurance Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 24.88%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 891,871 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,641 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.47% of Selective Insurance Group worth $81,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 36.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 299,925 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,052,142 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $98,396,000 after purchasing an additional 89,692 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 564,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $52,796,000 after purchasing an additional 160,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 460,339 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $42,139,000 after purchasing an additional 75,108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SIGI. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $86.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 price objective on Selective Insurance Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $87.33.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI stock traded down $0.49 on Monday, hitting $76.22. 66,517 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 453,463. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 0.47. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $71.75 and a one year high of $103.56. The firm's 50 day moving average is $83.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.76.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.50%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.10) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Joseph Eppers acquired 1,402 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $76.82 per share, for a total transaction of $107,701.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 12,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at $959,635.44. This represents a 12.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh bought 2,000 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $75.72 per share, with a total value of $151,440.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 25,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,915,337.40. This represents a 8.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.