Fox Run Management L.L.C. Purchases Shares of 2,022 The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,468 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $122.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $115.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.27. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $94.47 and a one year high of $124.90.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HIG. StockNews.com cut The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,412,161.98. The trade was a 31.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $1,539,773.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. This trade represents 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 currently owned by company insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company Profile

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.