VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $9.76 Million in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems invested $9.76 million in The Hartford Insurance Group by acquiring 76,900 shares during the 2nd quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for The Hartford Insurance Group, with recent targets ranging from $137.00 to $147.00, indicating positive sentiment about the stock's future performance.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.7%, reflecting its stable financial position.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 76,900 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,756,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,936,615 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $487,077,000 after purchasing an additional 398,950 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of 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 worth $434,181,000 after purchasing an additional 60,116 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $264,972,000 after purchasing an additional 684,390 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,943,498 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $239,905,000 after purchasing an additional 417,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of 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 worth $197,995,000 after purchasing an additional 387,141 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HIG. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $139.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.07.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Down 0.5%

The Hartford Insurance Group stock opened at $123.84 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.57. The company has a market cap of $34.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.69. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $104.93 and a 52-week high of $135.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.02 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 19.60% and a net margin of 11.83%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. Analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. The Hartford Insurance Group's payout ratio is currently 18.86%.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of the business's 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 77,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,580,389. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

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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