United Services Automobile Association Takes $355,000 Position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has initiated a new investment in Selective Insurance Group, acquiring 3,865 shares valued at approximately $355,000 during the first quarter.
• Morgan Stanley has downgraded Selective Insurance Group from an "equal weight" rating to "underweight" with a reduced price target of $72.00, while other analysts have varied ratings and price targets for the stock.
• Selective Insurance Group announced a $0.38 quarterly dividend, translating to an annualized yield of 1.9%, highlighting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,865 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $355,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Strategies Group Inc. grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 7,988 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $705,000 after buying an additional 1,833 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 475,313 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,510,000 after purchasing an additional 175,725 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 36,230 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 618,072 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $56,578,000 after purchasing an additional 53,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at $247,000. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SIGI. 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. 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. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $87.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh purchased 2,000 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $75.72 per share, for a total transaction of $151,440.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,915,337.40. The trade was a 8.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Joseph Eppers purchased 1,402 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $76.82 per share, for a total transaction of $107,701.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $959,635.44. This represents a 12.64% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ SIGI remained flat at $77.11 on Tuesday. 145,390 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 460,312. The firm has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.75 and a 12-month high of $103.56. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $80.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.10.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 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 business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.10) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.88%.

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.