Saudi Central Bank Buys 8,967 Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Saudi Central Bank grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 87.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,252 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,967 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $2,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HIG. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 286,241.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 73,861,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,178,152,000 after purchasing an additional 73,835,976 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the second quarter worth about $4,067,052,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $611,724,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $350,777,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $346,877,000. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Insurance Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.67.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $138.19 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.40. The stock has a market cap of $37.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.33 and a 12 month high of $146.07.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.16 by $0.26. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The firm had revenue of $7.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 12.8 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.51%.

The Hartford Insurance Group 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.