LPL Financial LLC Increases Holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 7.9%, owning 58,594 shares valued at approximately $5.36 million.
• The company's CEO, John J. Marchioni, purchased 3,200 shares of stock, indicating insider confidence in the company's prospects.
• Selective Insurance Group reported a quarterly EPS of $1.31, missing analyst estimates of $1.55, and announced a dividend of $0.38 per share to be paid on September 2nd.

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 58,594 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,288 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.10% of Selective Insurance Group worth $5,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SIGI. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 673 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 116.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 928 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 price objective on Selective Insurance Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley cut Selective Insurance Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $87.33.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI traded down $1.49 on Friday, hitting $76.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 667,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,000. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.92. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.75 and a 1 year high of $103.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

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

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, CEO John J. Marchioni acquired 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.89 per share, with a total value of $249,248.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 139,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,887,074.75. This represents a 2.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $75.72 per share, for a total transaction of $151,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 25,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,915,337.40. This represents a 8.59% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.