Sit Investment Associates Inc. Cuts Position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Sit Investment Associates Inc. cut its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 29.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 18,345 shares and leaving it with 43,490 shares worth about $5.99 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other large investors holding 93.42% of HIG shares. Recent moves included major buying by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management and continued additions by firms like State Street and Geode Capital.
• The Hartford reported Q1 earnings of $3.09 per share, below analysts’ expectations, while revenue also came in slightly light. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, or $2.40 annually, for a 1.9% yield.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,490 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 18,345 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $5,993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $10,178,152,000 after acquiring an additional 73,835,976 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,031,840 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,146,749,000 after purchasing an additional 55,983 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 34,274 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 10.3% in 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 during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $611,724,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HIG shares. Bank of America upped their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $149.00 to $142.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG stock opened at $128.26 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $133.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.40. The firm has a market cap of $35.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.47. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.61 and a 1-year 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 Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.41 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value 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 trade represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 corporate 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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