Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,986 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $4,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 707.7% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,365.60. This represents a 61.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,339 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.58, for a total transaction of $4,826,600.62. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,595,056.92. The trade was a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 384,621 shares of company stock valued at $53,010,925. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on HIG shares. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.13.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Up 1.1%

HIG stock opened at $132.87 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $136.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.91. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.49 and a fifty-two week high of $144.50. The firm has a market cap of $36.65 billion, a PE ratio of 9.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.84. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 17.99%.

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.