Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $225,000 Stock Position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,768 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 151.1% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 146.2% during the first quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 261 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 123.8% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 291 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the first quarter worth about $43,000. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HIG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Hartford Insurance Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.57.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of HIG stock opened at $123.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $34.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.93 and a fifty-two week high of $135.17.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The insurance provider reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.76. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 12.75%.The firm had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from The Hartford Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 16.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.87, for a total value of $284,339.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $4,364,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,580,389. This trade represents a 31.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company 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.