Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 537,342 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 31,065 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.21% of MGIC Investment worth $12,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,621,838 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,836,000 after acquiring an additional 98,369 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in MGIC Investment by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 91,690 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 10,864 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in MGIC Investment by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 40,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $958,000 after purchasing an additional 10,130 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 311.0% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 66,493 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 50,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of MGIC Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $1,166,000. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MTG. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Compass Point reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 target price (up from $24.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target 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 given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.50.

MGIC Investment Stock Performance

MGIC Investment stock traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.22. 1,855,062 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,802,248. The firm has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $23.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.48. MGIC Investment Co. has a twelve month low of $19.91 and a twelve month high of $26.56.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The insurance provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.07. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 14.86% and a net margin of 63.18%. Equities analysts predict that MGIC Investment Co. will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. MGIC Investment's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Julie K. Sperber sold 4,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.55, for a total value of $112,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,842,968.50. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.