Panagora Asset Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 38,711 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,851,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Selective Insurance Group at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 0.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,165,209 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $636,065,000 after purchasing an additional 41,639 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,866,827 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $398,941,000 after acquiring an additional 398,517 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,190,389 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $118,420,000 after acquiring an additional 149,901 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 983,020 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $97,791,000 after acquiring an additional 17,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 811,919 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $80,770,000 after acquiring an additional 17,657 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on SIGI. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $104.00 price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.17.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In other Selective Insurance Group news, COO Brenda M. Hall sold 2,626 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.88, for a total transaction of $278,040.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,904.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Selective Insurance Group stock traded down $0.14 on Friday, reaching $97.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 232,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,239. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.06 and a twelve month high of $109.58. The company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The business's fifty day moving average price is $102.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.14.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.88 by ($0.55). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.02% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Selective Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 24.73%.

Selective Insurance Group Profile

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.