Insider Buying: Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) Major Shareholder Purchases $143,310.00 in Stock

Donegal Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DGICA) major shareholder Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.86 per share, for a total transaction of $143,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,996,781 shares in the company, valued at $235,985,727.66. This represents a 0.06% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Mutual Insurance Co Donegal also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 11th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.18 per share, for a total transaction of $146,030.00.
• On Friday, May 8th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal bought 8,077 shares of Donegal Group stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.13 per share, for a total transaction of $138,359.01.
• On Thursday, May 7th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.06 per share, for a total transaction of $145,010.00.
• On Tuesday, May 5th, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 8,500 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.50 per share, for a total transaction of $140,250.00.
• On Tuesday, March 3rd, Mutual Insurance Co Donegal purchased 9,000 shares of Donegal Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.63 per share, for a total transaction of $158,670.00.

Donegal Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:DGICA opened at $17.08 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $632.81 million, a PE ratio of 9.54 and a beta of 0.01. Donegal Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.11 and a 12 month high of $21.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $17.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.55.

Donegal Group (NASDAQ:DGICA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $236.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $247.83 million. Donegal Group had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 10.31%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Donegal Group, Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Donegal Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $0.1925 dividend. This represents a $0.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. This is a boost from Donegal Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. Donegal Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Donegal Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,737,266 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,846,000 after purchasing an additional 7,345 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,008,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $19,549,000 after purchasing an additional 39,181 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 534,703 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,685,000 after purchasing an additional 11,891 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 5.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 392,711 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,747,000 after purchasing an additional 21,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Donegal Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 391,729 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,827,000 after purchasing an additional 3,290 shares in the last quarter. 27.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Donegal Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Donegal Group from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.00.

About Donegal Group

Donegal Group, Inc (NASDAQ: DGICA) is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Marietta, Pennsylvania. Through a network of independent agencies, the company offers a suite of personal and commercial insurance products. Its underwriting subsidiaries provide homeowners, automobile, farmowner, commercial multi-peril, surety and umbrella coverages designed to meet the needs of individuals, families and businesses.

The company’s origins date back to 1925 with the formation of Donegal Mutual Insurance Company to serve rural communities in Pennsylvania.