Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 474 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 752.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $49,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 70.7% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 22,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,085,000 after purchasing an additional 9,430 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 10.5% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 214,515 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,637,000 after acquiring an additional 20,410 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 0.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 891,871 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $81,642,000 after acquiring an additional 7,641 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 2.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,756,225 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $618,465,000 after acquiring an additional 135,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 36.9% in the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 63,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after acquiring an additional 17,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SIGI opened at $78.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.75 and a 12 month high of $103.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.89 and a 200-day moving average of $85.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80 and a beta of 0.47.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.55 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.10) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SIGI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $92.00 to $84.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Selective Insurance Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $88.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $88.00 target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.33.

Insider Activity at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, CEO John J. Marchioni bought 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.89 per share, for a total transaction of $249,248.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 139,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,887,074.75. This trade represents a 2.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas A. Mccarthy bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $77.42 per share, for a total transaction of $193,550.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 18,746 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,451,315.32. This trade represents a 15.39% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 10,602 shares of company stock valued at $817,440 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

About Selective Insurance Group

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.