Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 97,996 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,906 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $9,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIGI. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,586,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $148,048,000 after purchasing an additional 26,880 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,055,321 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $98,694,000 after buying an additional 84,341 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $93,409,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 884,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $82,693,000 after acquiring an additional 16,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 828,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,465,000 after acquiring an additional 110,381 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ SIGI opened at $86.63 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.53. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90 and a beta of 0.45. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.13 and a 1 year high of $104.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

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

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.