Bank of America Corp DE Raises Stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Hartford stake by 2.1% in the first quarter, holding 3.83 million shares worth approximately $518.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.42% of HIG.
• The Hartford exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $3.42 versus the $3.16 consensus and revenue of $7.26 billion, up 8.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an average “Hold” rating and a $149.67 price target. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, equating to a 1.7% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,831,622 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 79,827 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 1.40% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $518,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HIG. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 286,241.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 73,861,771 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,178,152,000 after buying an additional 73,835,976 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,031,840 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,146,749,000 after acquiring an additional 55,983 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,948,948 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,091,440,000 after acquiring an additional 34,274 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,331,293 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $711,141,000 after acquiring an additional 496,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% during the first 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 during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HIG. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $146.00 price target (down from $148.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Insurance Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 38,208 shares in the company, valued at $5,163,047.04. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:HIG opened at $141.97 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $134.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.72. The company has a market capitalization of $38.46 billion, a PE ratio of 9.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.33 and a 52-week high of $146.07.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.16 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $7.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.17 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.66% and a net margin of 15.00%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 12.84 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The Hartford Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is 15.51%.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HIG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.