First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Stock Position in MGIC Investment Corporation $MTG

First Trust Advisors LP cut its position in MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,287,529 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 321,789 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 2.03% of MGIC Investment worth $112,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MGIC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,248,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MGIC Investment by 92.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,333,091 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $176,313,000 after purchasing an additional 3,041,446 shares in the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,456,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 71.2% in the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,739,877 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $50,839,000 after purchasing an additional 723,480 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec raised its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 20.4% in the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 3,943,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $111,890,000 after purchasing an additional 667,876 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MTG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MGIC Investment from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on MGIC Investment in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at MGIC Investment

In other MGIC Investment news, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total transaction of $761,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 560,951 shares in the company, valued at $14,236,936.38. This trade represents a 5.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,937 shares of MGIC Investment stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total value of $534,940.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 169,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,333,791. This trade represents a 10.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.34% of the company’s stock.

MGIC Investment Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MTG opened at $28.99 on Friday. MGIC Investment Corporation has a 12 month low of $24.69 and a 12 month high of $29.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.93 and a 200-day moving average of $26.90.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 59.63% and a return on equity of 14.01%. The business had revenue of $297.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $303.12 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. MGIC Investment’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MGIC Investment Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 5th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from MGIC Investment’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 5th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. MGIC Investment’s dividend payout ratio is 19.05%.

MGIC Investment declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that permits the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 12.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MGIC Investment Profile

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.