Property and casualty insurer The Hartford on Thursday posted a 6 percent increase in first-quarter profits due to higher group benefits earnings.
For the three months ended March 31, the insurance and financial services company reported net income of $630 million, or $1.71 a diluted share, up from $597 million, or $1.18, in the same quarter in 2018.
Net sales during the three-month period increased from $4.6 billion to $4.9 billion.
Both profits and shares beat Wall Street analysts’ estimates.
Trading for The Hartford’s shares were up 1.83 percent to $52.35 as of 11 a.m. Thursday.
The Hartford said it has not yet completed its $2.1 billion acquisition of Stamford-based global specialty underwriter The Navigators Group Inc. It previously estimated the deal would close following regulatory approvals in March or April.
Under the deal, The Hartford plans to combine Navigators’ operations and its specialty commercial and middle market businesses into two new segments: global specialty and middle and larger commercial.
