Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Sold by Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 294,763 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 18,905 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC owned about 0.48% of Selective Insurance Group worth $27,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 245.7% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 284,669 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,622,000 after acquiring an additional 202,318 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,977 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,868,000 after buying an additional 5,830 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,499 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 63.6% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 85,532 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,999,000 after purchasing an additional 33,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth about $753,000. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SIGI. StockNews.com raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $92.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $94.00.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ SIGI traded down $0.62 on Tuesday, reaching $89.04. 234,143 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 386,118. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.65 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $88.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.67. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.13 and a fifty-two week high of $103.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Selective Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.42%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total transaction of $117,705.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,388,258.76. The trade was a 7.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.