William Blair Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 292,525 Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management purchased 292,525 shares of Selective Insurance Group, valued at approximately $28.4 million, giving it a 0.49% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 82.88% of the company.
• Selective Insurance exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.95 in EPS versus the $1.66 consensus and revenue of $1.39 billion, above the $1.30 billion estimate.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share, or $1.72 annually, representing a 1.9% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $100.33.

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 292,525 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $28,378,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.49% of Selective Insurance Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 94.8% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 55,955 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,682,000 after buying an additional 27,236 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at about $468,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Selective Insurance Group by 138.0% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 62,686 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,245,000 after acquiring an additional 36,351 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 237,076 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,836,000 after acquiring an additional 74,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 92.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 253,223 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,090,000 after acquiring an additional 121,487 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of SIGI opened at $91.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 0.30. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $100.40. The business's 50 day moving average price is $95.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 14.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 8.12 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 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is 21.34%.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Michael H. Lanza sold 17,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.04, for a total value of $1,608,084.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,557,772.60. This represents a 50.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIGI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Selective Insurance Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $97.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $101.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.33.

About Selective Insurance Group

Selective Insurance Group, Inc is an insurance holding company headquartered in Branchville, New Jersey. The organization traces its roots to a regional provider of property and casualty coverage and became a publicly traded holding company following its initial public offering in 1999. Since its formation, Selective has expanded through strategic acquisitions and organic growth initiatives to broaden its product offerings and strengthen its market position.

The company's core business encompasses a broad range of property and casualty insurance products designed to serve both commercial and personal lines customers.

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