Insider Selling: MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) EVP Sells $534,940.35 in Stock

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) EVP Paula Maggio sold 20,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total transaction of $534,940.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 169,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,333,791. This represents a 10.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

MGIC Investment Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:MTG opened at $24.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.68. MGIC Investment Corporation has a 1-year low of $24.69 and a 1-year high of $29.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $297.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $303.12 million. MGIC Investment had a net margin of 59.63% and a return on equity of 14.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

MGIC Investment Dividend Announcement

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

MGIC Investment announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, April 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of MGIC Investment

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTG. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 60.6% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 701,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,914,000 after purchasing an additional 264,968 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 245.3% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 364,650 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,655,000 after purchasing an additional 259,039 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 106.1% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 687,445 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,503,000 after purchasing an additional 353,935 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 17.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 472,083 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,393,000 after purchasing an additional 71,474 shares during the period. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,456,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MTG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of MGIC Investment in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MGIC Investment from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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.