LRI Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 15,712 Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,438,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $93,409,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of 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. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 245.7% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 284,669 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,622,000 after acquiring an additional 202,318 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 564,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $52,796,000 after acquiring an additional 160,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,484,000. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total transaction of $117,705.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 15,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,388,258.76. This represents a 7.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $87.32. The stock had a trading volume of 394,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 399,976. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 0.48. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.13 and a 1 year high of $103.56. The business's 50 day moving average price is $86.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.62.

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

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given 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 yield of 1.74%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.