ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 41.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,977 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,830 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $1,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,711,000 after acquiring an additional 72,530 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 957.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,782 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,850,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the period. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total value of $117,705.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,388,258.76. This trade represents a 7.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SIGI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised Selective Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Down 0.7%

SIGI opened at $89.04 on Wednesday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.13 and a 12 month high of $103.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.65 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.10). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 41.42%.

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.