Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 98.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,219 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 903,117 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $1,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,416,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $132,949,000 after acquiring an additional 62,699 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 988,846 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $92,783,000 after purchasing an additional 11,327 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 616,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,883,000 after buying an additional 38,400 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 397,937 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,338,000 after buying an additional 41,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 313,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,292,000 after buying an additional 33,681 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SIGI. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.67.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of SIGI stock opened at $99.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50 and a beta of 0.57. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.00 and a 52-week high of $109.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $94.54 and its 200 day moving average is $92.78.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.29). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a boost from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $130,024.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 15,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,476,759.06. This trade represents a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% 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.