Securian Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,595 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,649,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Selective Insurance Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,061 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,950 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC boosted its stake in Selective Insurance Group by 5.4% in the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 2,974 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $93.00 price target (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.71.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SIGI opened at $89.17 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $78.13 and a fifty-two week high of $109.58. The stock has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.95 and a 200-day moving average of $91.86.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.