Kennedy Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIGI) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 130,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,427 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Selective Insurance Group were worth $12,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $93,409,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group during the 4th quarter worth $69,504,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Selective Insurance Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Selective Insurance Group by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 828,327 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,465,000 after purchasing an additional 110,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in Selective Insurance Group by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,055,321 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $98,694,000 after purchasing an additional 84,341 shares during the last quarter. 82.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SIGI. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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 restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $93.00 target price (down previously from $116.00) on shares of Selective Insurance Group in a research report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.17.

Selective Insurance Group Trading Up 4.4 %

NASDAQ:SIGI opened at $86.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.76 and a 200 day moving average of $91.60. Selective Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.13 and a 52 week high of $104.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Selective Insurance Group (NASDAQ:SIGI) last announced 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 net margin of 4.26% and a return on equity of 7.33%. On average, research analysts predict that Selective Insurance Group, Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Selective Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Selective Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.