Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $47.99 Million Stock Position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 513,108 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 119,229 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $47,986,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth $180,000. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 0.6%

Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $89.66 on Tuesday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.13 and a twelve month high of $103.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.68. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.84 and a beta of 0.51. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $93.00 to $92.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,352 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.06, for a total value of $117,705.12. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,388,258.76. This represents a 7.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.