Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 146,589 Shares of MGIC Investment Corporation $MTG

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE:MTG) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,371,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 146,589 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MGIC Investment were worth $163,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 60.6% in the 3rd 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. boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 245.3% in the 4th 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 holdings 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 purchasing an additional 353,935 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in MGIC Investment by 17.8% in the 3rd 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 bought a new stake in MGIC Investment in the 4th quarter valued at $24,456,000. 95.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MTG shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of MGIC Investment in a report on Friday, May 22nd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of MGIC Investment from $29.50 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of MGIC Investment from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. One research 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

MGIC Investment Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MTG stock opened at $24.82 on Thursday. MGIC Investment Corporation has a 52-week low of $24.69 and a 52-week high of $29.97. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.68. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.69 and a 200-day moving average of $27.24.

MGIC Investment (NYSE:MTG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $297.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $303.12 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MGIC Investment Corporation will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 currently 19.05%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy J. Mattke sold 139,202 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.49, for a total value of $3,687,460.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,118,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,615,952.45. This represents a 11.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Paula C. Maggio sold 20,937 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 171,070 shares of company stock worth $4,509,340. 1.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.