Vest Financial LLC Lowers Position in MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG)

Vest Financial LLC reduced its position in shares of MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG - Free Report) by 90.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,790 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,349,350 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.06% of MGIC Investment worth $3,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in MGIC Investment by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 16,008,489 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $379,561,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928,595 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in MGIC Investment by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 10,578,342 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $250,812,000 after acquiring an additional 235,916 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in MGIC Investment by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 5,495,115 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $130,289,000 after purchasing an additional 415,586 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in MGIC Investment by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,766,195 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $113,006,000 after purchasing an additional 677,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,524,277 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $107,271,000 after acquiring an additional 277,746 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.58% of the company's stock.

MGIC Investment Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:MTG opened at $26.32 on Friday. MGIC Investment Co. has a 1-year low of $20.35 and a 1-year high of $26.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $25.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 0.89.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $306.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $306.66 million. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 14.86% and a net margin of 63.18%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that MGIC Investment Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. MGIC Investment's payout ratio is currently 17.28%.

MGIC Investment announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 24th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MTG. UBS Group upped their target price on MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Compass Point restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at MGIC Investment

In other news, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total value of $529,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 157,395 shares in the company, valued at $4,169,393.55. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.05% of the company's stock.

About MGIC Investment

MGIC Investment Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides private mortgage insurance, other mortgage credit risk management solutions, and ancillary services to lenders and government sponsored entities in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The company offers primary mortgage insurance that provides mortgage default protection on individual loans, as well as covers unpaid loan principal, delinquent interest, and various expenses associated with the default and subsequent foreclosure.

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