Sterling Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in MGIC Investment Corporation $MTG

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) by 79.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,375 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 27,749 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MGIC Investment were worth $194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 boosted its position in MGIC Investment by 106.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 687,445 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,503,000 after buying an additional 353,935 shares during the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new stake in shares of MGIC Investment during the fourth quarter valued at about $24,456,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of MGIC Investment by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,371,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $163,368,000 after acquiring an additional 146,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of MGIC Investment in the fourth quarter worth about $3,971,000. 95.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MTG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on MGIC Investment in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price target 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 upped their target price on shares of MGIC Investment from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group decreased their price target on MGIC Investment from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Monday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.25.

MGIC Investment Stock Performance

Shares of MGIC Investment stock traded up $0.25 on Tuesday, reaching $28.46. 45,015 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,077,847. The firm has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.67. MGIC Investment Corporation has a 1-year low of $24.69 and a 1-year high of $29.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $26.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.98.

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

MGIC Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. MGIC Investment’s payout ratio is presently 19.05%.

MGIC Investment declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 12.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at MGIC Investment

In related news, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.55, for a total value 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 $4,333,791. This represents a 10.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Salvatore A. Miosi sold 30,000 shares of MGIC Investment stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.38, for a total value of $761,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 560,951 shares in the company, valued at $14,236,936.38. The trade was a 5.08% 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. 1.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MGIC Investment Company 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.