Norges Bank Buys Shares of 3,293,922 MGIC Investment Corporation $MTG

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 3,293,922 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $96,248,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in MGIC Investment by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 10,950 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 4,316 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in MGIC Investment by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 17,369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 5,919 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in MGIC Investment by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,371,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $163,368,000 after acquiring an additional 146,589 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MGIC Investment by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 30,048 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in MGIC Investment by 61.0% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 1,825 shares in the last quarter. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MGIC Investment news, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 10,931 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total transaction of $286,938.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 590,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,512,463.75. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total transaction of $534,940.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,333,791. This represents a 10.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 171,070 shares of company stock valued at $4,509,340 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MTG shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.25.

MGIC Investment Price Performance

MGIC Investment stock opened at $25.50 on Friday. MGIC Investment Corporation has a 12-month low of $24.69 and a 12-month high of $29.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 59.63% and a return on equity of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $297.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $303.12 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

MGIC Investment announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 12.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. MGIC Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.05%.

About MGIC Investment

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG) is a leading provider of private mortgage insurance in the United States. Established in 1957 as the nation’s first private mortgage insurer, MGIC helps lenders manage credit risk and facilitates homeownership by protecting mortgage loans against default. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the company operates through its principal subsidiary, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, and maintains relationships with a broad network of originators and servicers nationwide.

The company’s primary business activity involves issuing mortgage insurance policies that enable borrowers to purchase homes with down payments below traditional lending thresholds.