Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $2.04 Million Stock Holdings in Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Donegal Group Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) by 47.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 131,770 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,251 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.39% of Donegal Group worth $2,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Donegal Group during the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Donegal Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $128,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Donegal Group by 117.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,420 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 4,544 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Donegal Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $162,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Donegal Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $177,000. Institutional investors own 27.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.49 per share, with a total value of $197,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 13,164,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $217,080,494.28. This represents a 0.09% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William Albert Folmar sold 12,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.90, for a total transaction of $250,262.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,905. This represents a 92.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 213,147 shares of company stock worth $3,975,328 and have sold 151,688 shares worth $2,913,186. Insiders own 6.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Donegal Group from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th.

Donegal Group Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of DGICA stock opened at $20.44 on Friday. Donegal Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.26 and a 12-month high of $20.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $18.85 and its 200 day moving average is $16.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $728.46 million, a P/E ratio of 13.45 and a beta of -0.05.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $245.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.73 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 5.14% and a return on equity of 9.50%. Research analysts expect that Donegal Group Inc. will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.1825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. This is a boost from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Donegal Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.61%.

Donegal Group Profile

Donegal Group Inc, an insurance holding company, provides property and casualty insurance to businesses and individuals. It operates through three segments: Investment Function, Personal Lines of Insurance, and Commercial Lines of Insurance. The company offers private passenger automobile policies that provide protection against liability for bodily injury and property damage arising from automobile accidents, as well as protection against loss from damage to automobiles; and homeowners policies, which provide coverage for damage to residences and their contents from a range of perils, including fire, lightning, windstorm, and theft, as well as liability of the insured arising from injury to other persons or their property.