Fred Alger Management LLC Grows Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,540 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $3,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter worth $277,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,322,000 after purchasing an additional 709,324 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $514,363,000 after purchasing an additional 202,487 shares in the last quarter. Suncoast Equity Management bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $311,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,131,000 after buying an additional 10,964 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,086 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.42, for a total value of $129,690.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,279.24. This represents a 63.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 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 directly owns 31,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. This represents a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,429 shares of company stock worth $13,618,028. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Seven 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $126.87.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:HIG opened at $127.50 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.16 and a 1 year high of $129.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $119.54 and a 200-day moving average of $115.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $36.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.97 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 20.74%.

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.