The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its shares in The Hartford Insurance Group by 61.5% in the second quarter, bringing its total to 125,825 shares valued at approximately $15.7 million.
• Analysts have set a new average price target for the stock at $138.00, with seven analysts rating it as a "Buy" and eight as a "Hold."
• The Hartford Insurance Group recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.41 for the last quarter, outperforming estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue growth of 7.7%.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 61.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 47,919 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $15,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,936,615 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $487,077,000 after purchasing an additional 398,950 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,509,098 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $434,181,000 after buying an additional 60,116 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 684,390 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 27.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,943,498 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $239,905,000 after buying an additional 417,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 31.9% during the first quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,600,215 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $197,995,000 after buying an additional 387,141 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HIG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $152.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price target (up previously from $135.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Friday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.00.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $4,364,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 77,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,580,389. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.87, for a total transaction of $284,339.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

HIG opened at $130.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.93 and a twelve month high of $135.17. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $128.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.72.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $7.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The Hartford Insurance Group's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The Hartford Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.86%.

The Hartford Insurance Group 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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