Vestcor Inc Boosts Stock Holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 70.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,696 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,183 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 119,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,185,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after buying an additional 1,706 shares during the period. Dundas Partners LLP boosted its position in Selective Insurance Group by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 4,294 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 761 shares during the period. Finally, Inceptionr LLC raised its stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 21,446 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,006,000 after acquiring an additional 14,297 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIGI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 price objective (down from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Selective Insurance Group from $95.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed 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 issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Selective Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.71.

Selective Insurance Group Price Performance

SIGI stock opened at $87.80 on Monday. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.13 and a 1 year high of $109.58. The company has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $86.98 and a 200 day moving average of $91.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.34.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by ($0.37). Selective Insurance Group had a return on equity of 7.33% and a net margin of 4.26%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 EPS for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 47.20%.

Selective Insurance Group Profile

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.