Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 19.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 660,624 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,268 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $89,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth $211,000. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at $576,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 56.4% in the first quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 16,755 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after acquiring an additional 6,041 shares during the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA purchased a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at about $543,000. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC raised its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 69.7% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group cut their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.00.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE HIG opened at $140.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $37.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.47. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.33 and a 1-year high of $144.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $133.90 and a 200-day moving average of $135.52. 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 (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $7.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 15.00%.The Hartford Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $1,201,981.35. Following the transaction, the president owned 38,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,163,047.04. This trade represents a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.