The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) Stock Moved Down to “Equal Weight” by Wells Fargo & Company

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, FinViz reports. They presently have a $139.00 price target on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $158.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 0.86% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on HIG. Weiss Ratings raised shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $144.00 to $137.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Monday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $137.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.50.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $137.81 on Wednesday. The Hartford Insurance Group has a one year low of $120.42 and a one year high of $146.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.67 and a 200-day moving average of $135.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $36.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The Hartford Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, CFO Beth Costello sold 31,597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.75, for a total transaction of $4,289,292.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 82,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,265,621. This trade represents a 27.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hartford Insurance Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HIG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,067,052,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,699,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $635,490,000 after purchasing an additional 72,448 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,831,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $518,150,000 after purchasing an additional 79,827 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,461,607 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $468,113,000 after buying an additional 189,916 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $346,877,000. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.