Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 66,819 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 43.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,746 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 66,819 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.15% of Selective Insurance Group worth $8,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SIGI. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,468,801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $510,239,000 after buying an additional 1,216,801 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at $69,504,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,726,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 112.7% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 427,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,667,000 after purchasing an additional 226,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $88.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55 and a beta of 0.54. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.13 and a 12-month high of $109.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.79.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 4.26%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 47.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on SIGI shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 target price (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.71.

Selective Insurance Group Company 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.