The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 245,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 25,826 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $33,777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 1,745 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management raised its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 24,314 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,243,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 16.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HIG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on 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 given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.13.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $132.29 on Friday. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.49 and a one year high of $144.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

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

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total transaction of $5,617,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,365.60. This represents a 61.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.58, for a total value of $4,826,600.62. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,595,056.92. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 384,621 shares of company stock valued at $53,010,925. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.