Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 10,901 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 387,036 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 10,901 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.64% of Selective Insurance Group worth $36,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 245.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $130,024.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,476,759.06. This trade represents a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $97.82 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37 and a beta of 0.57. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.00 and a 12 month high of $109.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.78.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.29). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Selective Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. This is a positive change from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 40.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on SIGI shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.67.

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.