SRB Corp Sells 47,629 Shares of Safety Insurance Group, Inc. $SAFT

Key Points

• SRB Corp trimmed its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 2.6% in the first quarter, selling 47,629 shares and still holding about 12.23% of the company, worth roughly $130.4 million.
• Safety Insurance Group has agreed to be acquired by Mapfre for $105 per share in cash, a deal that has likely set a floor for the stock while investors wait for the transaction to close.
• The stock surged 41.5% and opened at $103.20, while analysts currently maintain a Hold consensus rating and the company recently reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings.

SRB Corp cut its stake in Safety Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFT - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,794,655 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 47,629 shares during the quarter. Safety Insurance Group makes up approximately 8.0% of SRB Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. SRB Corp owned approximately 12.23% of Safety Insurance Group worth $130,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Safety Insurance Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 140,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,199,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 67,915 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,933,000 after buying an additional 21,018 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Safety Insurance Group by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 3,189 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Safety Insurance Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 711,806 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $51,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,319 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in Safety Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $472,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.04% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Safety Insurance Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Safety Insurance Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Safety Insurance Group agreed to be acquired by Mapfre for $105 per share in cash, creating a strong premium and immediate takeover value for shareholders. Safety Insurance Group, Inc. Enters Into Merger Agreement With Mapfre for $1.54 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: The deal price has effectively become a valuation floor for SAFT, which typically pulls a stock up close to the acquisition value while the market waits for closing. Mapfre to Acquire Safety Insurance Group in Cash Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Several shareholder law firms have announced investigations into whether the $105 cash price is fair, which could add legal noise but does not change the announced deal terms for now. Shareholder Alert: Ademi LLP investigates whether Safety Insurance Group, Inc. is obtaining a Fair Price for Public Shareholders
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest and insider-trading data do not appear to be driving the move; the stock reaction is primarily tied to the buyout announcement. Safety Insurance Group Jumps on $105-Per-Share Cash Buyout Deal

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SAFT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Safety Insurance Group in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Safety Insurance Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Safety Insurance Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Safety Insurance Group Trading Up 41.5%

SAFT stock opened at $103.20 on Friday. Safety Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.04 and a 52 week high of $103.42. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40 and a beta of 0.21. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $73.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Safety Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SAFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The insurance provider reported ($0.72) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.45 by ($2.17). The business had revenue of $314.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.01 million. Safety Insurance Group had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 4.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Safety Insurance Group, Inc. will post 4.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Safety Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Safety Insurance Group's payout ratio is presently 87.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Safety Insurance Group

In related news, major shareholder Corp Srb sold 34,272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.04, for a total value of $2,606,042.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,757,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $133,658,017.32. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Safety Insurance Group Company Profile

Safety Insurance Group, Inc is a publicly traded property and casualty insurance holding company incorporated in Massachusetts in 1994. Its principal subsidiary, Safety Insurance Company, traces its roots back to 1923 and has since evolved into a regional personal lines insurer. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol SAFT.

Safety Insurance Group focuses primarily on private passenger automobile and homeowners insurance products, along with dwelling fire, umbrella liability, and certain commercial auto coverages.

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