The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG Stock Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 9.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 191,455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,542 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $23,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HIG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at about $4,067,052,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,699,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $635,490,000 after purchasing an additional 72,448 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 2.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,831,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $518,150,000 after purchasing an additional 79,827 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 5.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,461,607 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $468,113,000 after purchasing an additional 189,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at about $346,877,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $137.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.48. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.42 and a 52 week high of $146.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $7.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a positive change from The Hartford Insurance Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $144.00 to $137.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 12th. UBS Group cut their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $155.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Mizuho reduced their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $154.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Insurance Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Insurance Group

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

About The Hartford Insurance Group

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., known as The Hartford, is a U.S.-based insurance company founded in 1810 and headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut. It provides property and casualty insurance and employee benefits to businesses, organizations and individuals. Its commercial insurance offerings include coverage such as workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial auto and property insurance. The company also provides group benefits, including life, disability and leave-management products, along with personal auto and homeowners insurance, which it offers through arrangements including its relationship with AARP.