Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Invests $880,000 in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,386 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $880,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 707.7% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total value of $5,617,668.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at $3,505,365.60. This represents a 61.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total transaction of $1,201,981.35. Following the sale, the president directly owned 38,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,163,047.04. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIG has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Mizuho lifted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Down 0.8%

The Hartford Insurance Group stock opened at $126.15 on Thursday. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.61 and a 1-year high of $144.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a PE ratio of 8.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $135.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.91.

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 Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 22.52% and a net margin of 14.10%.The business had revenue of $7.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.17 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.60 dividend. 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%.

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.