Marshall Wace LLP Sells 13,237 Shares of United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its stake in United Fire Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFCS - Free Report) by 23.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,591 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 13,237 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.17% of United Fire Group worth $1,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UFCS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Fire Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,350,237 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $38,414,000 after purchasing an additional 16,588 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 502,232 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,514,000 after purchasing an additional 2,925 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of United Fire Group by 78.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,877 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,061,000 after buying an additional 78,254 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in United Fire Group by 87.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 142,996 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 66,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in United Fire Group by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 133,434 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,796,000 after buying an additional 14,110 shares in the last quarter. 62.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Fire Group Price Performance

NASDAQ UFCS traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.63. The stock had a trading volume of 89,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,878. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.86. United Fire Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.04 and a 1 year high of $31.70. The stock has a market cap of $727.00 million, a PE ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.33.

United Fire Group (NASDAQ:UFCS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.64. United Fire Group had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 4.94%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that United Fire Group, Inc. will post 2.42 earnings per share for the current year.

United Fire Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. United Fire Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.89%.

Insider Activity

In other United Fire Group news, major shareholder Dee Ann Mcintyre sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.31, for a total value of $68,275.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 446,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,203,828.53. This trade represents a 0.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James Noyce acquired 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.97 per share, for a total transaction of $53,940.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 27,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $736,712.52. This trade represents a 7.90 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UFCS. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of United Fire Group from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jones Trading upgraded shares of United Fire Group to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $32.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of United Fire Group from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

United Fire Group Company Profile

United Fire Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty insurance for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers commercial and personal lines of property and casualty insurance; and reinsurance coverage for property and casualty insurance. Its commercial lines include fire and allied lines, other liability, automobile, workers' compensation, fidelity and surety coverage, and other insurance products; and personal lines comprise automobile, and fire and allied lines coverage, including homeowners, as well as provides assumed reinsurance products.