Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 7.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,348 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,814 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $11,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,580 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 13,286 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,164 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,086 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.42, for a total value of $129,690.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,279.24. This trade represents a 63.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $143,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,385,250. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HIG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.15.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Up 0.9%

HIG stock opened at $126.06 on Friday. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.16 and a twelve month high of $132.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $35.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.99.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.97 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 18.73%. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. On average, equities 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.74%.

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.