Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Buys Shares of 7,592 The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HIG. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,732 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 1,664 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,040,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth about $9,549,000. Finally, Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $418,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HIG shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James upped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.47.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG opened at $113.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $116.56 and its 200-day moving average is $115.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.47 and a 12 month high of $125.08.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. Equities 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were 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 $25,412,161.98. This represents a 31.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 112,343 shares of company stock valued at $13,488,337. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.