The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 0.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,497,801 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,191 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.89% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $316,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HIG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,160,644 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,714,571,000 after acquiring an additional 156,807 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,467,018 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $943,448,000 after purchasing an additional 57,539 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 11.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,936,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $487,077,000 after purchasing an additional 398,950 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 47.0% during the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 2,141,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $264,972,000 after purchasing an additional 684,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,943,498 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $239,905,000 after purchasing an additional 417,951 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Insurance Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.86.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:HIG opened at $136.34 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, 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 $137.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The insurance provider reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.76. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 12.75%.The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from The Hartford Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 19.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.87, for a total value of $284,339.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 7,841 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was 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 directly owned 18,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,344. This trade represents a 29.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.