The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Stock: Equity Investment Corp Lowers Stake

Equity Investment Corp lowered its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 96.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 551,965 shares during the quarter. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $2,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,067,052,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,699,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $635,490,000 after buying an additional 72,448 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 2.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,831,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $518,150,000 after acquiring an additional 79,827 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 5.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,461,607 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $468,113,000 after acquiring an additional 189,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the second quarter worth $346,877,000. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE:HIG opened at $137.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $36.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.42 and a twelve month high of $146.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $132.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by $0.33. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The company had revenue of $7.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This is a positive change from The Hartford Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIG has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $155.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $136.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Piper Sandler cut The Hartford Insurance Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $146.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $164.00 to $158.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, CFO Beth Costello sold 31,597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.75, for a total transaction of $4,289,292.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,265,621. The trade was a 27.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company Profile

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., known as The Hartford, is a U.S.-based insurance company founded in 1810 and headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. It provides property and casualty insurance and employee benefits to businesses, organizations and individuals. Its commercial insurance offerings include coverage such as workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial auto and property insurance. The company also provides group benefits, including life, disability and leave-management products, along with personal auto and homeowners insurance, which it offers through arrangements including its relationship with AARP.