Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,950 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 21,200 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $19,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HIG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group in the second quarter worth $506,329,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,268,166 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $414,632,000 after buying an additional 1,111,659 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 217.9% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 832,291 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $105,593,000 after acquiring an additional 570,521 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,162,437 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $421,837,000 after acquiring an additional 452,274 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc increased its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 36.6% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,064,849 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $135,097,000 after acquiring an additional 285,596 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 5,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.83, for a total value of $805,736.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,609,672. This trade represents a 23.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 100,970 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.78, for a total transaction of $14,214,556.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 194,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,426,337.26. This trade represents a 34.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 343,928 shares of company stock worth $47,393,256 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.13.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Down 1.0%

HIG stock opened at $137.91 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.60. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $107.49 and a twelve month high of $144.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $133.83.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.84. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 13.52%.The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 17.99%.

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.