Bessemer Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 55.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,118 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,469 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HIG. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.4% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 53.4% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,083 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,668 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 357,885 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $44,281,000 after buying an additional 11,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 19,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,451,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 7,841 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.41, for a total transaction of $959,816.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,400 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,344. This represents a 29.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $4,364,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 77,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,580,389. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 45,305 shares of company stock worth $5,608,647 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock opened at $124.35 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $130.01 and a 200-day moving average of $127.20. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.93 and a 52-week high of $135.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.69.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The insurance provider reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.76. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 21.07%. The company had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is an increase from The Hartford Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HIG. Weiss Ratings cut shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $147.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.57.

The Hartford Insurance Group Profile

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and financial services to individual and business customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. Its Commercial Lines segment offers insurance coverages, including workers' compensation, property, automobile, general and professional liability, package business, umbrella, fidelity and surety, marine, livestock, accident, health, and reinsurance through regional offices, branches, sales and policyholder service centers, independent retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents, and reinsurance brokers.