Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 72,129 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 5.3%, now holding over 1.28 million shares, valued at approximately $117 million.
• Selective Insurance Group's recent earnings report revealed $1.31 EPS, falling short of the analyst estimate of $1.55, with revenue of $1.29 billion compared to expectations of $1.32 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38, translating to an annual yield of 1.9%, to be paid on September 2nd, signaling shareholder returns despite recent earnings challenges.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,282,325 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 72,129 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.11% of Selective Insurance Group worth $117,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,728 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,117 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 3.9% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,134 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 1.4% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,581 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,141 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In other Selective Insurance Group news, Director Robert Kelly Doherty purchased 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.00 per share, for a total transaction of $115,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,087,470. The trade was a 5.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Joseph Eppers purchased 1,402 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $76.82 per share, for a total transaction of $107,701.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $959,635.44. The trade was a 12.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of SIGI traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $78.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,723,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 504,665. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.75 and a twelve month high of $103.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company's 50-day moving average is $82.32 and its 200-day moving average is $85.33. The company has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by ($0.24). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.50%.The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.10) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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

About Selective Insurance Group

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.