Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases Shares of 14,200 The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 14,200 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,920,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 77,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 6.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,166 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,293,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 16.2% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 19,016 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,572,000 after purchasing an additional 2,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 154.4% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 280,884 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,984,000 after buying an additional 170,452 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $132.47 on Wednesday. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.61 and a 52 week high of $144.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $132.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.43. The company has a market cap of $36.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.47. 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 (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.39 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.41 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 14.10%.The Hartford Insurance Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders 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 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 16.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho dropped their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $159.00 to $154.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $1,201,981.35. Following the transaction, the president owned 38,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,163,047.04. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group 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.