Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $22.16 Million Stock Holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 8.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 236,129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 21,211 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $22,156,000 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 SIGI. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 188.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,450,417 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $144,287,000 after acquiring an additional 947,147 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,290,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at about $55,468,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 5.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,472 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $717,735,000 after purchasing an additional 367,987 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2,195.0% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 257,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,594,000 after purchasing an additional 246,063 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.67.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SIGI opened at $90.98 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.67. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.00 and a twelve month high of $109.58.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The insurance provider reported ($1.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($2.59). The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.12% and a return on equity of 8.75%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 24.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $85.85 per share, with a total value of $171,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,772,888.35. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Selective Insurance Group news, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $85.85 per share, with a total value of $171,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,888.35. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John J. Marchioni purchased 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $83.56 per share, for a total transaction of $200,544.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 136,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,397,333.32. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Company 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.