First Trust Advisors LP Sells 96,600 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 492,292 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 96,600 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.81% of Selective Insurance Group worth $46,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,711,000 after acquiring an additional 72,530 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter worth about $345,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 51.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,211 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $412,000 after buying an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 38.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,296 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 405,153 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,801,000 after purchasing an additional 7,563 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of Selective Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total transaction of $117,705.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,388,258.76. The trade was a 7.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI traded up $0.33 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.51. 56,959 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 383,624. The company's 50 day moving average is $87.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.27. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.13 and a 52 week high of $103.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 0.45.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is 41.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on SIGI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.67.

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.