MetLife Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 273.5% in Q1, now owning 261,165 shares valued at approximately $23.9 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard and Vaughan Nelson, have also raised their stakes in Selective Insurance Group, indicating strong interest among large investors with 82.88% of the stock held by institutional investors.
• Selective Insurance Group's recent quarterly earnings were below analyst expectations, reporting EPS of $1.31, missing estimates by $0.24, and also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share.

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 273.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 261,165 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 191,237 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.43% of Selective Insurance Group worth $23,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SIGI. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 440.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,064 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 5,758 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 31,911 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,984,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 142.2% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 5,814 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $935,000. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,000. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on SIGI shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 price target on Selective Insurance Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Selective Insurance Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $87.33.

Insider Activity

In other Selective Insurance Group news, EVP Joseph Eppers bought 1,402 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $76.82 per share, with a total value of $107,701.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 12,492 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $959,635.44. This represents a 12.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas A. Mccarthy bought 2,500 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.42 per share, for a total transaction of $193,550.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 18,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,451,315.32. This trade represents a 15.39% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 10,602 shares of company stock valued at $817,440. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of SIGI traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.23. 641,414 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 549,829. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.75 and a 1 year high of $103.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.47. The business's 50-day moving average price is $82.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.31.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.10) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is 24.88%.

Selective Insurance Group Company 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.