William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 127,012 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. $SIGI

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group, buying an additional 127,012 shares, bringing its total ownership to 418,673 shares, valued at approximately $36.3 million.
• Selective Insurance Group reported a Q2 earnings per share of $1.31, missing analyst estimates of $1.55, and had a revenue of $1.29 billion, also below the consensus forecast.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, translating into an annual yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 24.88%.

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 418,673 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 127,012 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.69% of Selective Insurance Group worth $36,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SIGI. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 219.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 361 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 398.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 389 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 752.4% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 537 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SIGI. BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $87.50.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $81.15 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.56 and a 200-day moving average of $83.89. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.75 and a 1-year high of $103.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.39.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.10) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Thomas A. Mccarthy acquired 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $77.42 per share, with a total value of $193,550.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 18,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,451,315.32. This trade represents a 15.39% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Joseph Eppers acquired 1,402 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $76.82 per share, with a total value of $107,701.64. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $959,635.44. The trade was a 12.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 10,602 shares of company stock worth $817,440 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.

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