The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Stock Bought by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,749 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,762 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $8,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,067,052,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,699,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $635,490,000 after purchasing an additional 72,448 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 2.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,831,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $518,150,000 after purchasing an additional 79,827 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,461,607 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $468,113,000 after buying an additional 189,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $346,877,000. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Up 2.2%

The Hartford Insurance Group stock opened at $137.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.42 and a 1-year high of $146.07. The company has a market cap of $36.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $132.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.56.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $7.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.37 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 15.85%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This is an increase from The Hartford Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 14.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other news, CFO Beth Costello sold 31,597 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.75, for a total transaction of $4,289,292.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,265,621. This represents a 27.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on HIG. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $155.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The Hartford Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.69.

The Hartford Insurance Group Profile

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., known as The Hartford, is a U.S.-based insurance company founded in 1810 and headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. It provides property and casualty insurance and employee benefits to businesses, organizations and individuals. Its commercial insurance offerings include coverage such as workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial auto and property insurance. The company also provides group benefits, including life, disability and leave-management products, along with personal auto and homeowners insurance, which it offers through arrangements including its relationship with AARP.