Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 385,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,805 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.63% of Selective Insurance Group worth $36,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Selective Insurance Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,061 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,950 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 485 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

SIGI stock opened at $86.33 on Friday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.13 and a twelve month high of $105.86. The firm has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

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

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 47.20%.

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.