Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 24,023 Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 133.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 41,969 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,023 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $5,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the first quarter worth about $207,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 56,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,285 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,919 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 193,020 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,488,000 after purchasing an additional 39,220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Insurance Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG stock opened at $133.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $132.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.35. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.61 and a 12 month high of $144.50.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by ($0.30). The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The business had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 16.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,163,047.04. This trade represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.