The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target Raised to $137.00

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price target boosted by Evercore ISI from $133.00 to $137.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

HIG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (up previously from $135.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, The Hartford Insurance Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.93.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $133.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The Hartford Insurance Group has a fifty-two week low of $104.93 and a fifty-two week high of $135.17. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.93. The company has a market cap of $37.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.69.

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 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 business had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.86%.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $4,364,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,580,389. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.87, for a total transaction of $284,339.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Insurance Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 66.4% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 782 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,317 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. Cathy Pareto & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Financial Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Financial Advisory Partners LLC now owns 25,909 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,206,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 327,478 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $40,519,000 after acquiring an additional 28,594 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

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.