Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 108,765 Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,376,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 108,765 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $450,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 706,293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $94,212,000 after purchasing an additional 140,624 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 252.7% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 24,540 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,245,000 after purchasing an additional 17,582 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 109.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 25,174 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,358,000 after purchasing an additional 13,138 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 6.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 509,580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $67,973,000 after purchasing an additional 31,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 102.0% during the third quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 20,709 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,739,000 after buying an additional 10,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 $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 is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 201,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 194,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,574,986.97. This trade represents a 50.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 343,928 shares of company stock valued at $47,393,256. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

The Hartford Insurance Group stock opened at $134.97 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.86. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.49 and a fifty-two week high of $144.50.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.84. The company 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 Hartford Insurance Group’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on HIG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho started coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price target for the company. Argus upped their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.13.

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.