UBS Group AG Has $183.57 Million Stock Holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in The Hartford by 8.2% in Q4 to 1,332,113 shares, valued at about $183.57 million (roughly 0.48% of the company) per its latest 13F filing.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — CEO Christopher Swift sold 100,970 shares and EVP Lori Rodden sold 40,693 shares, with insiders offloading a total of 349,282 shares worth $48.18 million in the past 90 days.
• The Hartford missed quarterly EPS estimates ($3.09 vs. $3.39) but shows strong profitability (ROE 22.52%), a market cap of about $37.44 billion, a quarterly dividend of $0.60 (1.8% yield), and an analyst consensus of a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $149.31.

UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,332,113 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 100,822 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned about 0.48% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $183,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,031,840 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,146,749,000 after purchasing an additional 55,983 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 10.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,331,293 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $711,141,000 after purchasing an additional 496,821 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,389,329 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $606,956,000 after purchasing an additional 81,712 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,376,931 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $450,449,000 after purchasing an additional 108,765 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 7.5% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,281,825 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $416,365,000 after purchasing an additional 228,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total value of $5,617,668.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,392 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,505,365.60. The trade was a 61.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 100,970 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.78, for a total transaction of $14,214,556.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 194,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,426,337.26. This trade represents a 34.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 349,282 shares of company stock valued at $48,184,324 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $149.00 target price (down from $163.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

HIG stock opened at $136.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.89. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.61 and a fifty-two week high of $144.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.53.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.39 by ($0.30). The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 14.10%.The business had revenue of $14.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The Hartford Insurance Group's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.26 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. The Hartford Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 16.87%.

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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