Emerald Advisers LLC Sells 44,458 Shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Emerald Advisers LLC decreased its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 35.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 81,667 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 44,458 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $7,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 957.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 64.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 485 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $180,000. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on SIGI shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 target price (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.71.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

NASDAQ SIGI opened at $88.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $86.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.79. 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 52-week low of $78.13 and a 52-week high of $109.58.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current fiscal 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. 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.