Norges Bank Purchases New Position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,990,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $506,329,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.42% of The Hartford Insurance Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 95.1% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 3,140 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 61.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 125,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,727,000 after purchasing an additional 47,919 shares during the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth $324,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 94.5% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 300,409 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,107,000 after buying an additional 145,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 330.5% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 28,218 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,491,000 after buying an additional 21,664 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 value of $959,816.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.87, for a total value of $284,339.88. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HIG. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.29.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG opened at $137.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $38.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.69. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.93 and a 1 year high of $138.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $130.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced 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 company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 12.75%.The Hartford Insurance Group’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from The Hartford Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.61%.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company 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.