The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 66,603 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,832 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $9,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $207,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 56,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after purchasing an additional 886 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.9% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 167,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $21,297,000 after buying an additional 6,285 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.8% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,919 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 25.5% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 193,020 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,488,000 after buying an additional 39,220 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total transaction of $5,617,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total value of $1,201,981.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 38,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,163,047.04. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HIG. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $149.00 to $142.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $165.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Insurance Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.19.

The Hartford Insurance Group Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $132.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.29, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.84. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.61 and a 52 week high of $144.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.87%.

The Hartford Insurance Group Profile

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.