The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho started coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.25.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

HIG stock opened at $134.43 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.01. The Hartford Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $107.49 and a 52 week high of $144.50. The stock has a market cap of $37.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.84. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.58, for a total value of $4,826,600.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,595,056.92. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total transaction of $5,617,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,365.60. The trade was a 61.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 384,621 shares of company stock valued at $53,010,925 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Insurance Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth about $207,000. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 8.1% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,395 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the second quarter valued at about $687,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 12.0% during the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 209,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,546,000 after acquiring an additional 22,500 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

The Hartford Financial Services Group, commonly known as The Hartford, is a U.S.-based insurance and investment company that provides a broad range of commercial and personal insurance products and employee benefits. Its core businesses include property and casualty insurance for businesses and individuals, group benefits such as group life, disability and dental plans, and retirement and investment solutions offered through affiliated asset-management operations. The company also delivers risk management, claims-handling and loss-prevention services designed to support policyholders across a variety of industries.

Founded in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1810, The Hartford is one of the oldest insurance organizations in the United States and has a long history of underwriting and product development across multiple insurance lines.