Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 98,191 Shares of MGIC Investment Corporation $MTG

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its stake in shares of MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,010,854 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 98,191 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 1.79% of MGIC Investment worth $117,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 61.1% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,041 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 88.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy J. Mattke sold 139,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total transaction of $3,687,460.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,118,005 shares in the company, valued at $29,615,952.45. The trade was a 11.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 10,931 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.25, for a total value of $286,938.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 590,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,512,463.75. The trade was a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 171,070 shares of company stock worth $4,509,340 over the last ninety days. 1.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MGIC Investment Price Performance

MGIC Investment stock opened at $25.50 on Monday. MGIC Investment Corporation has a 52 week low of $24.69 and a 52 week high of $29.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $5.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.68.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.03. MGIC Investment had a return on equity of 14.01% and a net margin of 59.63%.The business had revenue of $297.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $303.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 12.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

MGIC Investment Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. MGIC Investment’s payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MTG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on MGIC Investment in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on MGIC Investment from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.25.

About MGIC Investment

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG) is a leading provider of private mortgage insurance in the United States. Established in 1957 as the nation’s first private mortgage insurer, MGIC helps lenders manage credit risk and facilitates homeownership by protecting mortgage loans against default. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the company operates through its principal subsidiary, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, and maintains relationships with a broad network of originators and servicers nationwide.

The company’s primary business activity involves issuing mortgage insurance policies that enable borrowers to purchase homes with down payments below traditional lending thresholds.