Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Buys New Stake in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,802 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,213,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,031,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,146,749,000 after purchasing an additional 55,983 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 10.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,331,293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $711,141,000 after purchasing an additional 496,821 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,389,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $606,956,000 after buying an additional 81,712 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group during the second quarter worth $506,329,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,376,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $450,449,000 after buying an additional 108,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 40,693 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,392 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 100,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.78, for a total transaction of $14,214,556.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 194,817 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,426,337.26. This trade represents a 34.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 384,621 shares of company stock worth $53,010,925. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of HIG opened at $132.29 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.92, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a one year low of $107.49 and a one year high of $144.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.00.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.84. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 21.92% and a net margin of 13.52%.The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd 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, March 2nd. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HIG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.13.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company 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.