Brokerages Set The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Target Price at $148.13

The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $148.1250.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $152.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Insurance Group from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore upped their price objective on The Hartford Insurance Group from $137.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on The Hartford Insurance Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $160.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on The Hartford Insurance Group from $143.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th.

The Hartford Insurance Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG stock traded down $2.52 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $136.73. 161,277 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,576,566. The Hartford Insurance Group has a 52 week low of $107.49 and a 52 week high of $144.50. The stock has a market cap of $37.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $137.25 and its 200-day moving average is $133.80.

The Hartford Insurance Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Hartford Insurance Group will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Insurance Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. The Hartford Insurance Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 100,970 shares of The Hartford Insurance Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.78, for a total transaction of $14,214,556.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 194,817 shares in the company, valued at $27,426,337.26. The trade was a 34.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lori A. Rodden sold 5,681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.83, for a total transaction of $805,736.23. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,609,672. This trade represents a 23.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 343,928 shares of company stock valued at $47,393,256. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HIG. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 286,241.4% during 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 period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,160,644 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,714,571,000 after buying an additional 156,807 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,031,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,146,749,000 after buying an additional 55,983 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 0.4% during 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 buying an additional 34,274 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Insurance Group by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,331,293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $711,141,000 after buying an additional 496,821 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.