Legal & General Group Plc Takes $2.44 Million Position in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. $SAFT

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 32,665 shares of Safety Insurance Group, valued at approximately $2.45 million, giving it a 0.22% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 81.04% of the company.
• Safety Insurance Group reported quarterly EPS of $2.03, topping estimates of $2.00, on revenue of $325.68 million. Analysts’ average rating is “Moderate Buy,” though recent ratings ranged from hold to buy.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, equivalent to $3.68 annually and a 3.6% yield. Separately, a major shareholder sold 1.24 million shares for approximately $127.8 million.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 32,665 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,445,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.22% of Safety Insurance Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SAFT. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Safety Insurance Group by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 388 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Bayban purchased a new position in Safety Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 416 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 653.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 497 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 1,317.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 496 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SAFT shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Safety Insurance Group from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Safety Insurance Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Safety Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Safety Insurance Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Insider Activity at Safety Insurance Group

In other news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 1,240,352 shares of Safety Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.07, for a total transaction of $127,843,080.64. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 473,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,791,998.09. The trade was a 72.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,316,109 shares of company stock valued at $134,654,987 over the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SAFT opened at $103.15 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $92.72 and a 200 day moving average of $80.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23 and a beta of 0.16. Safety Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.04 and a 12-month high of $103.80.

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

Safety Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Safety Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.31%.

About Safety Insurance Group

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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