Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires Shares of 58,035 Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 58,035 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,415,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 245.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 3.5% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 74,519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,527 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $318,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 240.6% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 95,476 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,423,000 after purchasing an additional 67,445 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Selective Insurance Group news, CAO Anthony D. Harnett sold 1,404 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Selective Insurance Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Selective Insurance Group stock opened at $99.80 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.78. The stock has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.90 and a beta of 0.57. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.00 and a 12 month high of $109.58.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 8.11% and a net margin of 5.01%. Selective Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is 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 presently 40.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SIGI. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Selective Insurance Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.67.

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.