The Hartford Insurance Group’s (HIG) “Market Perform” Rating Reaffirmed at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their market perform rating on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $149.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $163.00.

HIG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho began coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $152.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.25.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:HIG opened at $134.43 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $37.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.60. The Hartford Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $107.49 and a fifty-two week high of $144.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $137.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.01.

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

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.58, for a total transaction of $4,826,600.62. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 77,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,595,056.92. This trade represents a 31.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were 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 approximately $3,505,365.60. The trade was a 61.58% decrease in their position. 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 worth $53,010,925. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HIG. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 286,241.4% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 73,835,976 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $611,724,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 131.1% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,632,082 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $224,901,000 after purchasing an additional 925,789 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $91,398,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 6,431.8% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 643,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $85,829,000 after purchasing an additional 633,592 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company 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.