Two Sigma Securities LLC Invests $349,000 in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,728 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,055,321 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $98,694,000 after purchasing an additional 84,341 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth about $93,409,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 884,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $82,693,000 after buying an additional 16,539 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 828,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,465,000 after purchasing an additional 110,381 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,504,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

SIGI opened at $87.57 on Monday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.13 and a twelve month high of $103.60. The firm has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.31.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.89 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 4.26%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $93.00 target price (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,388,258.76. This represents a 7.82 % 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. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.