Comerica Bank Raises Stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Comerica Bank raised its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,087 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,031 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $11,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,031,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,146,749,000 after buying an additional 55,983 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,331,293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $711,141,000 after buying an additional 496,821 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,389,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $606,956,000 after buying an additional 81,712 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,376,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $450,449,000 after buying an additional 108,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,281,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $416,365,000 after buying an additional 228,780 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

HIG opened at $138.83 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $137.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.88. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.61 and a 12-month high of $144.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $38.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.53.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.39 by ($0.30). The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 14.10%.The firm had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The Hartford Insurance Group’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.26 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target 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. increased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. One 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.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,365.60. This represents a 61.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 201,938 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.41, for a total value of $27,546,362.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 194,817 shares in the company, valued at $26,574,986.97. This represents a 50.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 349,282 shares of company stock worth $48,184,324. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.