Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 79,536 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $6,894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 171.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,711,000 after purchasing an additional 72,530 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 2,486.8% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 7,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 7,336 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 4.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,416,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $132,949,000 after purchasing an additional 62,699 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 9.0% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 170,281 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,887,000 after purchasing an additional 14,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 867,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,956,000 after buying an additional 21,374 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIGI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Selective Insurance Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.14.

Insider Transactions at Selective Insurance Group

In other news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,476,759.06. This represents a 8.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ SIGI opened at $95.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69 and a beta of 0.60. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.00 and a 52-week high of $109.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $96.66 and its 200 day moving average price 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from Selective Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.97%.

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.