The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target Raised to $145.00

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price target upped by Mizuho from $144.00 to $145.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $158.00 to $139.00 in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $149.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $145.00 to $136.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $144.00 to $137.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.56.

The Hartford Insurance Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock traded up $0.55 on Thursday, hitting $137.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,123,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,942,947. The stock has a market cap of $36.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Hartford Insurance Group has a 52-week low of $120.42 and a 52-week high of $146.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $132.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.67.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The insurance provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $7.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.37 billion. The Hartford Insurance Group had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 15.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 13.32 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.53%.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Insurance Group

In related news, CFO Beth Costello sold 31,597 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.75, for a total value of $4,289,292.75. Following 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 position. 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.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Insurance Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HIG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in The Hartford Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at about $4,067,052,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,699,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $635,490,000 after purchasing an additional 72,448 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 2.1% during the 1st 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 during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in The Hartford Insurance Group by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,201,451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $514,090,000 after purchasing an additional 379,089 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $346,877,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Insurance Group Company Profile

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.