Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 180,678 Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,557,609 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 180,678 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.28% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $490,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HIG. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 351,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,418,000 after buying an additional 71,980 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 1,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 87.7% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,111,847 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $153,213,000 after acquiring an additional 519,352 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total transaction of $1,201,981.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 38,208 shares in the company, valued at $5,163,047.04. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $149.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.19.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Down 3.3%

The Hartford Insurance Group stock opened at $127.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.61 and a 1-year high of $144.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.47.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. The Hartford Insurance Group’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is 16.87%.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company 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.