Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 32,846 Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 182,453 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,846 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $24,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HIG. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 706,293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $94,212,000 after purchasing an additional 140,624 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 109.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 25,174 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,358,000 after buying an additional 13,138 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 252.7% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 24,540 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,245,000 after buying an additional 17,582 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 6.7% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 509,580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,973,000 after acquiring an additional 31,912 shares during the period. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 102.0% in the third quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 20,709 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,739,000 after acquiring an additional 10,455 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.58, for a total transaction of $4,826,600.62. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 77,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,595,056.92. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total value of $5,617,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,505,365.60. The trade was a 61.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 384,621 shares of company stock worth $53,010,925. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $135.40 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.95. The company has a market cap of $37.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.60. 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 Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $107.49 and a 12-month high of $144.50.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HIG shares. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $152.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.13.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company 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.