Legal & General Group Plc Has $10.76 Million Stock Position in MGIC Investment Corporation $MTG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its MGIC Investment stake by 24% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 368,183 shares valued at about $10.76 million.
• MGIC Investment reported Q1 earnings of $0.76 per share, beating analyst estimates, even as revenue came in slightly below expectations and fell 3% from a year ago.
• The company announced a $750 million share buyback and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equivalent to a 2.4% annual yield.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG - Free Report) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 368,183 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 116,586 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.16% of MGIC Investment worth $10,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MTG. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in MGIC Investment during the third quarter valued at $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in MGIC Investment by 61.1% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,041 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in MGIC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in MGIC Investment during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in MGIC Investment by 88.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,745 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the period. 95.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MGIC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of MTG stock opened at $24.82 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. MGIC Investment Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $24.69 and a fifty-two week high of $29.97. The stock's 50-day moving average is $26.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.24. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.68.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $297.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.12 million. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 14.01% and a net margin of 59.63%.The business's revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. Analysts predict that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. MGIC Investment's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.05%.

MGIC Investment declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 12.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on MGIC Investment in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on MGIC Investment from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered MGIC Investment from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 10,931 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total transaction of $286,938.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 590,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,512,463.75. This represents a 1.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total value of $534,940.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 169,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,333,791. This represents a 10.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 171,070 shares of company stock valued at $4,509,340. Insiders own 1.34% of the company's stock.

MGIC Investment Company Profile

MGIC Investment Corporation NYSE: MTG is a leading provider of private mortgage insurance in the United States. Established in 1957 as the nation's first private mortgage insurer, MGIC helps lenders manage credit risk and facilitates homeownership by protecting mortgage loans against default. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the company operates through its principal subsidiary, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, and maintains relationships with a broad network of originators and servicers nationwide.

The company's primary business activity involves issuing mortgage insurance policies that enable borrowers to purchase homes with down payments below traditional lending thresholds.

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