Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon cut its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 6.8% in the first quarter, selling 176,102 shares and ending with 2.42 million shares valued at about $327.9 million.
• The Hartford reported Q1 earnings of $3.09 per share, missing analyst estimates of $3.39, while revenue of $7.23 billion also came in below expectations. Despite the miss, revenue still rose 6.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, implying a 1.7% annual yield, while analysts currently maintain a cautious outlook with an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $148.38.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,424,947 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 176,102 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.88% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $327,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 286,241.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 73,861,771 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,178,152,000 after purchasing an additional 73,835,976 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% during 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 buying an additional 55,983 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,948,948 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,091,440,000 after buying an additional 34,274 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 10.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,331,293 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $711,141,000 after buying an additional 496,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at $611,724,000. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Insurance Group

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 transaction, the president owned 38,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,163,047.04. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Up 2.6%

The Hartford Insurance Group stock opened at $140.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.47. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.33 and a 12-month high of $144.50. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.40.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by ($0.30). The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 14.10%.The company had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 12.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued 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 (DPR) is 16.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $146.00 price objective (down from $148.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $148.38.

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.

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