Barclays PLC Reduces Stock Holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Barclays cut its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 383,583 shares and ending with 838,719 shares worth about $115.6 million.
• Wall Street remains cautiously positive on HIG, with nine Buy ratings and nine Hold ratings; the consensus view is a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $147.31.
• The company reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue estimates, though revenue still rose 6.1% year over year. It also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, or $2.40 annualized, yielding about 1.9%.

Barclays PLC lowered its position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 838,719 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 383,583 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.30% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $115,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HIG. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 73,835,976 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $611,724,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 131.1% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,632,082 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $224,901,000 after purchasing an additional 925,789 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the third quarter valued at about $91,398,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 6,431.8% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 643,443 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $85,829,000 after buying an additional 633,592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on HIG. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $149.00 to $142.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Up 0.1%

HIG stock opened at $129.72 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.61 and a twelve month high of $144.50. The company's 50 day moving average is $134.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.61. The stock has a market cap of $35.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.47.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.39 by ($0.30). The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group's payout ratio is presently 16.87%.

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 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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