Safety Insurance Group, Inc. $SAFT Position Lifted by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 27.3%, owning 47,099 shares valued at approximately $3.72 million after purchasing an additional 10,101 shares in the first quarter.
• Safety Insurance Group's stock has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen as of August 9th.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.92 per share, with the ex-dividend date being September 2nd, resulting in a 5.0% dividend yield.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Free Report) by 27.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,099 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,101 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.32% of Safety Insurance Group worth $3,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 169.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 448 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 823.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 471 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 67.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 811 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Safety Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at $181,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis J. Langwell acquired 2,000 shares of Safety Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $71.49 per share, for a total transaction of $142,980.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $428,940. The trade was a 50.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Safety Insurance Group Stock Up 2.2%

SAFT traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.74. 97,200 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 90,908. Safety Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.76 and a fifty-two week high of $90.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.26. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $74.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.85.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The insurance provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $345.83 million for the quarter.

Safety Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Safety Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 63.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.