Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 67.8%, owning 118,972 shares after selling 250,512 shares in the second quarter.
• Recent transactions saw insider selling, including CFO Beth Ann Costello offloading 35,340 shares for approximately $4.36 million.
• Analyst ratings on The Hartford range from "buy" to "hold," with a consensus target price of $138.00, reflecting mixed sentiment in the market.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,972 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 250,512 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $15,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Park Square Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 146.2% during the 1st quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 261 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 123.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 291 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 167.8% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.87, for a total transaction of $284,339.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $4,364,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,580,389. The trade was a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HIG. Citigroup initiated coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $152.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Insurance Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.00.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

The Hartford Insurance Group stock opened at $130.77 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $128.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.12. The company has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.72. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.93 and a 1 year high of $135.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

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

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

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

About The Hartford Insurance Group

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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