Citigroup Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Citigroup Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 91.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,438 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 25,195 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 11.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 116.2% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 5,904 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at about $201,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 8.6% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,495 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 10.7% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 22,063 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,972,000 after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $111.00 to $109.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $108.00 to $105.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.50.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of SIGI stock opened at $107.42 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.93 and a twelve month high of $108.18.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.02. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 14.43%. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 24.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Selective Insurance Group

In other Selective Insurance Group news, COO Brenda M. Hall sold 2,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.88, for a total transaction of $278,040.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,112,904.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.