AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 12,258 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group, acquiring 12,258 additional shares, marking a 3,626.6% rise in ownership during the first quarter, valued at approximately $1.15 million.
• Selective Insurance Group has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, which will be paid to investors on September 2nd, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.9%.
• Recent price targets from analysts vary, with Piper Sandler lowering their target from $88 to $79, while BMO Capital Markets maintains a target of $88, highlighting diverse outlooks on the stock's performance.

AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 3,626.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,596 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,258 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 752.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 537 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $78.83. 126,917 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 460,534. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.47. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.75 and a twelve month high of $103.56. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $82.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.33.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.50%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.10) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Kelly Doherty purchased 1,500 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.00 per share, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 27,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,087,470. This trade represents a 5.86% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John J. Marchioni purchased 3,200 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.89 per share, with a total value of $249,248.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 139,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,887,074.75. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.