Eagle Asset Management Inc. Acquires 226,387 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 112.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 427,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 226,387 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $42,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 867,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $80,956,000 after acquiring an additional 21,374 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at $947,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 26,535 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,476,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 5.4% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 2,974 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 2,486.8% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 7,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ SIGI opened at $97.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.88. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.00 and a 1 year high of $109.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In related news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $130,024.44. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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.