Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 7.8%, owning 94,287 shares valued at approximately $11.67 million after selling nearly 8,000 shares during the first quarter.
• Several large investors, including Park Square Financial Group LLC and Meeder Asset Management Inc., recently increased their investments in The Hartford, highlighting strong institutional interest in the stock.
• The Hartford Insurance Group reported $3.41 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and reflecting a revenue increase of 7.7% year-over-year despite a slight miss against consensus estimates for revenue.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 7,995 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $11,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HIG. Park Square Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 123.8% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 291 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on HIG shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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 target price 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $137.64.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,574 shares in the company, valued at $9,580,389. This trade represents a 31.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG stock opened at $133.29 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $37.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $126.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.84. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $104.93 and a one year high of $134.93.

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

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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%.

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.

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