Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 7,053 Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. $HIG

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 355,296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,053 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of The Hartford Insurance Group worth $48,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in The Hartford Insurance Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the third quarter worth $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in the third quarter worth $29,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Adin M. Tooker sold 8,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.13, for a total transaction of $1,201,981.35. Following the sale, the president directly owned 38,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,163,047.04. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HIG. UBS Group dropped their target price 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $136.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $146.00 target price (down from $148.00) on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on The Hartford Insurance Group from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.38.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Up 2.6%

HIG opened at $140.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.45 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.33 and a 52 week high of $144.50.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The insurance provider reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $7.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. will post 12.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The Hartford Insurance Group’s payout ratio is presently 16.87%.

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.