The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. has reduced its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 35%, now holding 5,939 shares valued at approximately $753,000.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Northern Trust Corp and Bahl & Gaynor Inc., have increased their positions in The Hartford Insurance Group, reflecting growing investor confidence.
• Analysts have varied ratings on The Hartford Insurance Group, with an average price target of $140.07 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,939 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,193 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 11.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,936,615 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $487,077,000 after acquiring an additional 398,950 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,509,098 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $434,181,000 after purchasing an additional 60,116 shares in the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 47.0% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 2,141,537 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $264,972,000 after purchasing an additional 684,390 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,943,498 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $239,905,000 after purchasing an additional 417,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 31.9% in the 1st quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,600,215 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $197,995,000 after purchasing an additional 387,141 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HIG shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup began 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 objective on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of HIG opened at $128.85 on Tuesday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $131.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.42. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.93 and a twelve month high of $135.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.69.

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 company had revenue of $6.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.02 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 19.60% and a net margin of 11.83%.The Hartford Insurance Group's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The Hartford Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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