Barclays PLC Purchases 72,530 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Barclays PLC raised its position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 171.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 72,530 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $10,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SIGI. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 2.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $705,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 3,538.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,620 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 107,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,061,000 after purchasing an additional 23,487 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth $188,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 280,271 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,298,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $97.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.28 and a beta of 0.60. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.00 and a twelve month high of $109.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.66 and its 200 day moving average is $93.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $130,024.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares in the company, valued at $1,476,759.06. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company 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.