Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,416,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,699 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $132,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 81.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. 82.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI stock opened at $90.24 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.00 and a 52 week high of $109.58.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The insurance provider reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($2.59). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.75% and a net margin of 5.12%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 24.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John J. Marchioni acquired 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $83.56 per share, with a total value 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Selective Insurance Group news, CEO John J. Marchioni acquired 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $83.56 per share, with a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Terrence W. Cavanaugh bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $85.85 per share, for a total transaction of $171,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,772,888.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Selective Insurance Group

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.