The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Shares Acquired by Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its Hartford stake by 280.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 24,639 shares valued at about $3.4 million.
• Hartford insiders were active too: President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares in a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 transaction, reducing his ownership by 18.88%.
• Analysts remain split but generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $148.19; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 280.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,639 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,171 shares during the period. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.'s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $3,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $207,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 56,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,122,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.9% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 6,285 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,919 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 25.5% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 39,220 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total transaction of $1,201,981.35. Following the sale, the president directly owned 38,208 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,163,047.04. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HIG. Bank of America upped their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho decreased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $159.00 to $154.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on 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. Nine investment 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $148.19.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $129.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 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's fifty day moving average is $134.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current 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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.41 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 14.10%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.12 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is 16.87%.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company 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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