The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Position Cut by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management reduced its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,064,831 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 137,381 shares during the period. The Hartford Insurance Group comprises about 0.9% of LSV Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $422,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP bought a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at $16,559,000. Wilian Securities LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at $231,000. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 3,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,127 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Mizuho increased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total transaction of $5,617,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,505,365.60. This trade represents a 61.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

HIG opened at $136.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.32 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.85. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.61 and a fifty-two week high of $144.50.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.39 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.41 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 14.10%.The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.87%.

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.