Securian Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Securian Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 14,828 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 393 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $1,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 11.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,936,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $487,077,000 after acquiring an additional 398,950 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,509,098 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $434,181,000 after acquiring an additional 60,116 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 47.0% during the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 2,141,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $264,972,000 after acquiring an additional 684,390 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 27.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,943,498 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $239,905,000 after acquiring an additional 417,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 31.9% during the first quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,600,215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $197,995,000 after acquiring an additional 387,141 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HIG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $140.00 target price (up from $135.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $152.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.07.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

NYSE:HIG opened at $124.98 on Thursday. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $104.93 and a 1-year high of $135.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $131.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.55. The firm has a market cap of $35.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.69.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The insurance provider reported $3.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.58. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 19.60% and a net margin of 11.83%.The company had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The Hartford Insurance Group’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Insurance Group news, EVP Donald Christian Hunt sold 2,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.87, for a total value of $284,339.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,340 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value 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 approximately $9,580,389. This trade represents a 31.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.