Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 3,725 Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,725 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $9,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HIG. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 28,218.5% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 757,804 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,763,000 after purchasing an additional 755,128 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $87,516,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 47.0% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 2,141,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $264,972,000 after acquiring an additional 684,390 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,943,498 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $239,905,000 after acquiring an additional 417,951 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,493,077 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,427,000 after purchasing an additional 414,216 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $4,364,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 77,574 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,580,389. The trade was a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.87, for a total value of $284,339.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $133.51 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.69. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $104.93 and a one year high of $135.17. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $126.02. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 11.83% and a return on equity of 19.60%. The company had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HIG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.93.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company 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.