The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

HIG opened at $119.60 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $114.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.03. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 1 year low of $94.47 and a 1 year high of $124.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. Research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total transaction of $11,805,563.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,412,161.98. The trade was a 31.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $1,539,773.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,661.60. The trade was a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Financial Services Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $271,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,077,000 after purchasing an additional 4,482 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 6,364.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 18,425 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 18,140 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,088 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About The Hartford Financial Services Group

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and financial services to individual and business customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. Its Commercial Lines segment offers insurance coverages, including workers' compensation, property, automobile, general and professional liability, package business, umbrella, fidelity and surety, marine, livestock, accident, health, and reinsurance through regional offices, branches, sales and policyholder service centers, independent retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents, and reinsurance brokers.