Allianz Asset Management GmbH Boosts Holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 131.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 925,789 shares to reach 1,632,082 shares valued at about $224.9 million.
• Other institutional investors also raised positions, and 93.42% of HIG shares are now held by hedge funds and other institutions, showing strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Analysts remain split but generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy rating overall, though several firms trimmed price targets; meanwhile, The Hartford recently missed quarterly EPS estimates but announced a $0.60 quarterly dividend payable July 2.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 131.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,632,082 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 925,789 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.59% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $224,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 109.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 13,138 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 102.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 20,709 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,739,000 after buying an additional 10,455 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,682,000. CSM Advisors LLC boosted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 336,336 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $44,866,000 after buying an additional 57,468 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,553,541 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $340,617,000 after buying an additional 55,740 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on HIG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $148.19.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $128.92 on Wednesday. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.61 and a 1 year high of $144.50. The stock has a market cap of $35.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $134.68 and a 200 day moving average of $135.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.41 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total transaction of $1,201,981.35. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 38,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,163,047.04. This trade represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.30% 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.

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