Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 660,624 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,268 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.24% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $89,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the first quarter worth about $207,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 56,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after buying an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 167,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $21,297,000 after buying an additional 6,285 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,919 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 193,020 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $24,488,000 after buying an additional 39,220 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.00.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

NYSE HIG opened at $140.06 on Tuesday. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.33 and a 1 year 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 has a market capitalization of $37.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.52.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.16 by $0.26. The firm 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 15.00% and a return on equity of 21.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.41 EPS. Analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 12.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $1,201,981.35. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by 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.