Nicholas Investment Partners LP Trims Stock Position in MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP lowered its position in shares of MGIC Investment Co. (NYSE:MTG - Free Report) by 41.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 453,846 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 325,123 shares during the period. MGIC Investment accounts for about 0.9% of Nicholas Investment Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Nicholas Investment Partners LP owned 0.18% of MGIC Investment worth $10,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MTG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MGIC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,908,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in MGIC Investment by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 16,008,489 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $379,561,000 after purchasing an additional 2,928,595 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in MGIC Investment by 292.0% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,072,629 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $49,142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,543,908 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in MGIC Investment by 259.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,105,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,209,000 after purchasing an additional 797,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MGIC Investment by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,766,195 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $113,006,000 after acquiring an additional 677,227 shares during the last quarter. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MGIC Investment Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE MTG traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,946,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,799,974. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 0.48. MGIC Investment Co. has a 1 year low of $20.11 and a 1 year high of $26.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.50. The firm has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 0.91.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 63.18% and a return on equity of 14.86%. The company had revenue of $306.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MGIC Investment Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 8th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 8th. MGIC Investment's payout ratio is 17.28%.

MGIC Investment declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 12.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Compass Point restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up from $24.00) on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of MGIC Investment from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MGIC Investment presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

MGIC Investment Profile

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.