EP Wealth Advisors LLC recently disclosed that it has acquired a new stake in shares of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. during the first quarter. The fund purchased 8,588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, with a value of approximately $706,000. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in Selective Insurance Group in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in the company by 576.9%, owning 704 shares, worth $67,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position by 46.0%, owning 740 shares, valued at $66,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake by 37.3% to 747 shares worth $67,000, while CI Investments Inc. lifted its stake by 112.3%, owning 830 shares worth $74,000. Lastly, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in the company worth $114,000. 83.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
In terms of insider trading, Selective Insurance Group’s Director, Cynthia S. Nicholson, sold 3,020 shares of the company’s stock in two separate transactions, with a total value of $306,560.20. As a result of these sales, Nicholson now owns 16,746 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,699,886.46. CEO John J. Marchioni also sold 2,976 shares of the stock for a total transaction value of $297,421.44. Following the sale, Marchioni now owns 141,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,137,512.40. In total, insiders have sold 6,976 shares of the company’s stock in the last 90 days, representing 1.50% of the total outstanding shares.
Selective Insurance Group’s stock opened at $99.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, and a beta of 0.61. Selective Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $78.89 and a 1-year high of $105.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $100.01, and its 200-day moving average price is $98.34.
Selective Insurance Group recently reported its earnings for the second quarter, meeting analysts’ expectations with earnings per share of $0.99. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Selective Insurance Group’s net margin was 7.15%, and the company’s return on equity was 12.83%. For the current fiscal year, analysts expect Selective Insurance Group to post earnings per share of $6.1.
The company also announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on September 1st. Shareholders of record on August 15th received a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.20 and a yield of 1.20%.
Several analysts have weighed in on Selective Insurance Group’s stock recently. Piper Sandler increased their price target on the stock from $102.00 to $110.00 and gave it a “neutral” rating. BMO Capital Markets also increased their price target on Selective Insurance Group’s stock from $90.00 to $93.00. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating. StockNews.com started coverage on the stock with a “hold” rating. Bank of America raised its target price to $100.00 but gave Selective Insurance Group an “underperform” rating. Overall, analysts have given the stock an average rating of “Hold” with a consensus price target of $101.86.
Selective Insurance Group, Inc. 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 property insurance products, casualty insurance products, and flood insurance products.
It’s worth noting that while Selective Insurance Group is not currently considered a top buy by Wall Street’s top-rated analysts, MarketBeat keeps track of their recommendations and has identified five stocks that these analysts are recommending to their clients before the wider market becomes aware of them. Selective Insurance Group does not currently fall under this list.