Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Stock Position in MGIC Investment Corporation $MTG

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,010,854 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 98,191 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in MGIC Investment were worth $117,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MTG. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of MGIC Investment in the 1st quarter worth about $2,397,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,103,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,901,000 after acquiring an additional 195,895 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 88.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MGIC Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $425,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,211 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MTG shares. Barclays dropped their target price on MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on MGIC Investment in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on MGIC Investment from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

MGIC Investment Trading Down 0.0%

MTG opened at $25.50 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14. MGIC Investment Corporation has a one year low of $24.69 and a one year high of $29.97.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $297.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.12 million. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 14.01% and a net margin of 59.63%.MGIC Investment’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Analysts predict that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

MGIC Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. MGIC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

MGIC Investment declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at MGIC Investment

In other MGIC Investment news, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 10,931 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total transaction of $286,938.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 590,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,512,463.75. This represents a 1.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total value of $534,940.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 169,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,333,791. The trade was a 10.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 171,070 shares of company stock valued at $4,509,340 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

About MGIC Investment

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG) is a leading provider of private mortgage insurance in the United States. Established in 1957 as the nation’s first private mortgage insurer, MGIC helps lenders manage credit risk and facilitates homeownership by protecting mortgage loans against default. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the company operates through its principal subsidiary, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, and maintains relationships with a broad network of originators and servicers nationwide.

The company’s primary business activity involves issuing mortgage insurance policies that enable borrowers to purchase homes with down payments below traditional lending thresholds.