Employees Retirement System of Texas Trims Stock Holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Employees Retirement System of Texas lowered its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 495,607 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,240 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group were worth $68,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 707.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on HIG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $159.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Mizuho boosted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Insurance Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.31.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total value of $5,617,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,505,365.60. The trade was a 61.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

HIG stock opened at $135.45 on Wednesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $135.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.04. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $119.61 and a one year high of $144.50. The company has a market capitalization of $37.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.50.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.41 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is 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.