Freedom Investment Management Inc. Has $955,000 Stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Freedom Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 28.9%, now holding 7,715 shares valued at $955,000.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for The Hartford, with JPMorgan Chase and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods adjusting their targets to $142.00 and $137.00, respectively.
• The Hartford Insurance Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.6%, set to be paid on October 2nd.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 28.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,715 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,129 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HIG. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 330.5% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 28,218 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,491,000 after purchasing an additional 21,664 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 68.5% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 47.0% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 2,141,537 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $264,972,000 after purchasing an additional 684,390 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 78.6% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 35,352 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,374,000 after purchasing an additional 15,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 26.6% during the first quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 11,015 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,315 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $4,364,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,580,389. The trade was a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HIG shares. Citigroup began coverage on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.64.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $132.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,142,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,582. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $104.93 and a one year high of $134.93. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $126.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.98. The firm has a market cap of $37.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.67.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last released 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 Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 19.60% and a net margin of 11.83%.The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 18.86%.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company 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.