Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Buys 22,410 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 2.0%, acquiring an additional 22,410 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.89%, valued at $99.7 million.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for Selective Insurance Group, with Piper Sandler lowering their target to $79.00 and Morgan Stanley cutting theirs to $72.00, indicating a consensus "Reduce" rating.
• Selective Insurance Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.38, representing an annualized amount of $1.52 and a dividend yield of 1.8%, with a payout ratio of 24.88%.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,150,662 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 22,410 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 1.89% of Selective Insurance Group worth $99,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,756,225 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $618,465,000 after acquiring an additional 135,324 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 891,871 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $81,642,000 after purchasing an additional 7,641 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 805,704 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $73,755,000 after purchasing an additional 62,503 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 9.5% in 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 buying an additional 53,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 561.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 580,274 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $53,118,000 after acquiring an additional 492,568 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley cut shares of 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $87.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $75.72 per share, for a total transaction of $151,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,915,337.40. This trade represents a 8.59% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Mccarthy bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.42 per share, with a total value of $193,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,746 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,451,315.32. The trade was a 15.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 10,602 shares of company stock valued at $817,440 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI stock opened at $83.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.71 and a 200-day moving average of $84.48. The company has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $71.75 and a one year high of $103.56.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.10) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.