Horizon Advisory Services Inc. Takes Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Horizon Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,535 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HIG. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 265.5% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,213,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $132,710,000 after purchasing an additional 881,224 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,322,000 after purchasing an additional 709,324 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,938,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $430,272,000 after purchasing an additional 581,103 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 42.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 935,298 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $110,000,000 after purchasing an additional 277,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 809,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $88,550,000 after purchasing an additional 246,528 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $113.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick 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 $94.32 and a 12-month high of $124.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.27.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

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.