The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Stock Acquired by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 8.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 48,830 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,942 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $6,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,067,052,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the second quarter worth approximately $350,777,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the second quarter worth approximately $346,877,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group in the second quarter worth approximately $337,907,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the second quarter worth $145,575,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Beth Costello sold 31,597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.75, for a total transaction of $4,289,292.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,988 shares in the company, valued at $11,265,621. This trade represents a 27.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG stock opened at $137.06 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $132.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.28. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $120.42 and a one year high of $146.07. The firm has a market cap of $36.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.48.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by $0.33. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 20.93%. The firm had revenue of $7.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from The Hartford Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is currently 16.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Truist Financial began coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a report on Monday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating and a $137.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $136.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $155.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.69.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc, commonly known as The Hartford, is a financial services and insurance company headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1810, the company provides property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, and related services to businesses, individuals, and organizations primarily in the United States.

The Hartford’s commercial insurance operations offer coverage for businesses of various sizes, including commercial auto, workers’ compensation, property, general liability, and specialty insurance.