Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 19.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 460,339 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 75,108 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.76% of Selective Insurance Group worth $42,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased 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 worth $103,280,000 after buying an additional 299,925 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 9.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $93,409,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 39.6% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 564,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $52,796,000 after acquiring an additional 160,193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 478,609 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,760,000 after buying an additional 73,456 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $88.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.13 and a fifty-two week high of $103.56. The company has a market cap of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13 and a beta of 0.48.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.70% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Selective Insurance Group's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is 41.42%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIGI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $92.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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