Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Increases Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 23,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 525 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HIG. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $674,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 88.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 5,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 235.4% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:HIG opened at $97.82 on Thursday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.05 and a 12 month high of $103.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $97.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.97.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.62. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 10.21%. The business had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a 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 target price of $105.56.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 956 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $82,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares in the company, valued at $14,635,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 956 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $82,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares in the company, valued at $14,635,480. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 38,915 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.42, for a total value of $3,713,269.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,600,105.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 249,082 shares of company stock valued at $22,404,321 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by 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.