The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $142.18, but opened at $136.93. The Hartford Insurance Group shares last traded at $139.4650, with a volume of 408,289 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HIG shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.75.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $38.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $133.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.47.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $7.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 12.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 16.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $1,201,981.35. Following the sale, the president directly owned 38,208 shares in the company, valued at $5,163,047.04. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HIG. Haven Private LLC lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 6,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $930,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 40.3% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,432,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.8% in the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,253 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

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.