Ballentine Partners LLC Cuts Stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Ballentine Partners LLC lessened its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,618 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 288 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $3,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CHB Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 5.9% during the second quarter. CHB Investment Group LLC now owns 28,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,557,000 after buying an additional 1,550 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 824 shares during the period. GSB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.0% in the second quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,699 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.00.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $131.64 on Wednesday. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.93 and a 1 year high of $135.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $129.02 and its 200 day moving average is $125.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.58. The company had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.02 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 19.60%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the company’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 directly owned 77,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,580,389. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.