Northern Trust Corp Lowers Stake in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. $SAFT

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has decreased its holdings in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. by 3.3%, selling 5,562 shares and reducing its stake to 1.08% of the company, valued at approximately $12.67 million.
• A recent payment of a quarterly dividend of $0.92, up from the previous $0.90, is set for September 15, reflecting a 5.0% dividend yield.
• The stock was downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen following a quarterly earnings report that showed an earnings per share miss of $0.15 against analyst estimates.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its holdings in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 160,661 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,562 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.08% of Safety Insurance Group worth $12,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAFT. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Safety Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 169.9% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 67.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 811 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $181,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Safety Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Safety Insurance Group

In other Safety Insurance Group news, Director Dennis J. Langwell acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.39 per share, with a total value of $144,780.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,120. This trade represents a 33.33% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Safety Insurance Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:SAFT traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.37. 45,800 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 69,148. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $72.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.49. Safety Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.76 and a 1 year high of $90.00. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 0.28.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.15). Safety Insurance Group had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 8.34%. The business had revenue of $345.83 million for the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Safety Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Safety Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is 64.45%.

Safety Insurance Group Profile

Safety Insurance Group, Inc provides private passenger and commercial automobile, and homeowner insurance in the United States. The company's private passenger automobile policies offer coverage for bodily injury and property damage to others, no-fault personal injury coverage for the insured/insured's car occupants, and physical damage coverage for an insured's own vehicle for collision or other perils.