The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target Lowered to $159.00 at Barclays

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $162.00 to $159.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $149.00 target price (down from $163.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Monday, March 30th. Evercore increased their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

HIG opened at $138.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $38.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.24. The Hartford Insurance Group has a 1-year low of $108.22 and a 1-year high of $144.50.

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

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 201,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.41, for a total transaction of $27,546,362.58. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 194,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,574,986.97. This represents a 50.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total value of $5,617,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,365.60. This represents a 61.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 349,282 shares of company stock worth $48,184,324. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 707.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company Profile

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.