Scotia Capital Inc. Invests $687,000 in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 5,412 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $687,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TIAA Trust National Association increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 28.4% during the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 2,791 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 92.5% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 83,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,323,000 after acquiring an additional 40,087 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 26.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 9,245 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 7,674 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HIG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.29.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $135.10 on Wednesday. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.93 and a fifty-two week high of $138.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.73. The company has a market capitalization of $37.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.63. 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 Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The insurance provider reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. Analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 positive change from The Hartford Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.87, for a total transaction of $284,339.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 7,841 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.41, for a total transaction of $959,816.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,344. This represents a 29.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.