Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 26,279 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,313 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $2,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at $69,504,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 828,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,465,000 after purchasing an additional 110,381 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,055,321 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $98,694,000 after buying an additional 84,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,711,000 after buying an additional 72,530 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIGI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued 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 reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on 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 issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.17.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $82.37 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $86.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.78. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 0.34. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $78.13 and a one year high of $105.86.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last issued its 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%. On average, 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 was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 47.20%.

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.