The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Stock: Alps Advisors Inc. Increases Stake

Key Points

• Alps Advisors increased its Hartford stake by 291.1% in the third quarter, ending with 23,910 shares valued at about $2.93 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.42% of the company.
• The Hartford beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $3.50 versus analysts’ $3.17 estimate, while revenue of $7.22 billion fell short of forecasts but rose 3.9% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.60 to $0.67 per share, equivalent to $2.68 annually and a 2.0% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $144.69.

Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 291.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,910 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,796 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $2,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $69,310,000. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 554,720 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $73,511,000 after acquiring an additional 26,060 shares during the last quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension now owns 187,110 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,303,000 after acquiring an additional 8,250 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 222.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 296,906 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $36,329,000 after purchasing an additional 204,857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 262.4% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 61,198 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,110,000 after purchasing an additional 44,310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, CFO Beth Costello sold 31,597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.75, for a total transaction of $4,289,292.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,265,621. This represents a 27.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HIG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $164.00 to $158.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Piper Sandler cut shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $146.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Insurance Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.69.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

NYSE:HIG opened at $134.88 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $132.66 and its 200 day moving average is $135.52. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $120.42 and a fifty-two week high of $146.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.07 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.17 by $0.33. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The business had revenue of $7.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from The Hartford Insurance Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The Hartford Insurance Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.53%.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc, known as The Hartford, is a U.S.-based insurance company founded in 1810 and headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. It provides property and casualty insurance and employee benefits to businesses, organizations and individuals.

Its commercial insurance offerings include coverage such as workers' compensation, general liability, commercial auto and property insurance. The company also provides group benefits, including life, disability and leave-management products, along with personal auto and homeowners insurance, which it offers through arrangements including its relationship with AARP.

The Hartford serves customers primarily in the United States, with select international operations.

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