The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) to Issue $0.60 Quarterly Dividend

The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.60 per share by the insurance provider on Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd.

The Hartford Insurance Group has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. The Hartford Insurance Group has a dividend payout ratio of 18.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect The Hartford Insurance Group to earn $12.67 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 18.9%.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $141.05. The stock had a trading volume of 70,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,546,720. The Hartford Insurance Group has a 1 year low of $107.49 and a 1 year high of $144.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $132.82. The company has a market capitalization of $39.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.61.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.84. The Hartford Insurance Group had a net margin of 13.52% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The company had revenue of $7.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. The Hartford Insurance Group’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Insurance Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 100,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.78, for a total value of $14,214,556.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 194,817 shares in the company, valued at $27,426,337.26. This trade represents a 34.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 35,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.58, for a total transaction of $4,826,600.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,595,056.92. This trade represents a 31.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 343,928 shares of company stock worth $47,393,256. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On The Hartford Insurance Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 286,241.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 73,861,771 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,178,152,000 after purchasing an additional 73,835,976 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,160,644 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,714,571,000 after acquiring an additional 156,807 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,031,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,146,749,000 after buying an additional 55,983 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,948,948 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,091,440,000 after purchasing an additional 34,274 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

About The Hartford Insurance Group

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.