Swiss National Bank Increases Stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 6.1% in the first quarter, adding 47,300 shares to bring its total to 817,800 shares worth about $110.6 million.
• Wall Street remains cautious on HIG, with analysts assigning a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $148.75, even as several firms recently nudged targets slightly higher or lower.
• The Hartford recently reported Q1 earnings of $3.09 per share, missing estimates, while revenue came in at $7.23 billion versus expectations of $7.41 billion; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share.

Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 817,800 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 47,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $110,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 56,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,122,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.9% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 167,868 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $21,297,000 after buying an additional 6,285 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.8% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,919 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 25.5% in the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 193,020 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $24,488,000 after buying an additional 39,220 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $148.75.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE HIG opened at $140.54 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.47. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.33 and a 52-week high of $144.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $133.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.39.

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

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.87%.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total transaction of $1,201,981.35. Following the sale, the president owned 38,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,163,047.04. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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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