Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 6,085 Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 26.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,373 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,085 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $3,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 25,597 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,167,000 after buying an additional 4,233 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 73.7% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,007 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $743,000 after acquiring an additional 2,549 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 852,432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $105,471,000 after acquiring an additional 381,600 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,943,498 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $239,905,000 after purchasing an additional 417,951 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho assumed coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $151.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.33.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Up 0.1%

HIG stock opened at $138.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.69. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.93 and a twelve month high of $140.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The insurance provider reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 12.75% and a return on equity of 21.07%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from The Hartford Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 7,841 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.41, for a total value of $959,816.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,344. This represents a 29.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

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.