First Trust Advisors LP Increases Holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,461,607 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 189,916 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $468,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. First Pacific Financial acquired a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. acquired a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays cut their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $146.00 target price (down from $148.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $148.75.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total transaction of $1,201,981.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 38,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,163,047.04. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

NYSE:HIG opened at $141.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $38.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $133.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.42. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.33 and a 1-year high of $144.50.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by ($0.30). The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 14.10%.The firm had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 12.74 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be 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 is Tuesday, September 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 16.87%.

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.