VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Acquires New Position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 76,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,756,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HIG. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 151.1% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 146.2% during the 1st quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 261 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 123.8% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 291 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $4,364,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 77,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,580,389. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.87, for a total value of $284,339.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.07.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of HIG opened at $123.84 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.69. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.93 and a 1 year high of $135.17. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.02 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 19.60% and a net margin of 11.83%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.86%.

The Hartford Insurance Group Profile

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and financial services to individual and business customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. Its Commercial Lines segment offers insurance coverages, including workers' compensation, property, automobile, general and professional liability, package business, umbrella, fidelity and surety, marine, livestock, accident, health, and reinsurance through regional offices, branches, sales and policyholder service centers, independent retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents, and reinsurance brokers.