Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $252.44 Million Stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.9% during the first quarter, now owning approximately $252.44 million worth of shares.
• The Hartford Insurance Group's recent earnings report showed $3.41 earnings per share, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue up 7.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52, which will be paid to stockholders of record on October 2nd, reflecting a 1.6% dividend yield.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 9.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,039,266 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 225,131 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.72% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $252,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HIG. MGO One Seven LLC raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 5,117 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 84.1% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 19,971 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,185,000 after buying an additional 9,122 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 15,226 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,666,000 after buying an additional 3,255 shares during the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth $754,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,454 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $4,364,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,580,389. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on HIG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up previously from $135.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.64.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $133.9780 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.67. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.93 and a twelve month high of $134.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.44.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.58. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 19.60%. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. The Hartford Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.86%.

The Hartford Insurance Group Profile

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and financial services to individual and business customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. Its Commercial Lines segment offers insurance coverages, including workers' compensation, property, automobile, general and professional liability, package business, umbrella, fidelity and surety, marine, livestock, accident, health, and reinsurance through regional offices, branches, sales and policyholder service centers, independent retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents, and reinsurance brokers.

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