MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) Position Reduced by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its holdings in MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG - Free Report) by 67.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,874 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 84,563 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in MGIC Investment were worth $1,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment in the first quarter valued at about $1,516,000. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 11.9% during the first quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 98,841 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,449,000 after buying an additional 10,524 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 28.6% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 45,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 10,094 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 1.5% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 40,985 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,016,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the period. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 1.3% during the first quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 41,718 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MTG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Compass Point reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total transaction of $529,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 157,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,169,393.55. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.05% of the company's stock.

MGIC Investment Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of MGIC Investment stock traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,959,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,853,653. MGIC Investment Corporation has a 1-year low of $21.20 and a 1-year high of $28.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.51 and a 200 day moving average of $24.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $306.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $306.66 million. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 63.49% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

MGIC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. MGIC Investment's payout ratio is 17.28%.

MGIC Investment announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

MGIC Investment Profile

MGIC Investment Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance, other mortgage credit risk management solutions, and ancillary services to lenders and government sponsored entities in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The company offers primary mortgage insurance that provides mortgage default protection on individual loans, as well as covers unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest, and various expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure.