Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI Stock Position Raised by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 9.5%, acquiring an additional 53,530 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.02% of the company.
• Recent insider transactions include Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh purchasing 2,000 shares and CEO John J. Marchioni acquiring 3,200 shares, indicating a confidence in the company's prospects.
• Selective Insurance Group's most recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $1.31, missing estimates by $0.24, while they also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 618,072 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 53,530 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 1.02% of Selective Insurance Group worth $56,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SIGI. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 561.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 580,274 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $53,118,000 after acquiring an additional 492,568 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter worth about $36,943,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 299,925 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 245.7% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 284,669 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,622,000 after acquiring an additional 202,318 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 273.5% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 261,165 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $23,907,000 after acquiring an additional 191,237 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $75.72 per share, with a total value of $151,440.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 25,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,915,337.40. This trade represents a 8.59% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Kelly Doherty purchased 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,087,470. This represents a 5.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ SIGI traded down $0.64 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.03. 268,324 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 459,028. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.75 and a fifty-two week high of $103.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 0.44. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $81.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.22.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.10) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.