15,712 Shares in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Purchased by LRI Investments LLC

LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 15,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,438,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in 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 valued at $103,280,000 after acquiring an additional 299,925 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 9.3% during 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. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at $93,409,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 564,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $52,796,000 after buying an additional 160,193 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 478,609 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $44,760,000 after buying an additional 73,456 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SIGI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $92.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total transaction of $117,705.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 15,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,388,258.76. This represents a 7.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Down 0.2%

Selective Insurance Group stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.25. The stock had a trading volume of 408,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 399,263. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $87.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.73. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.13 and a 12 month high of $103.56. The stock has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.10). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Selective Insurance Group's revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.42%.

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.