The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) PT Lowered to $107.00 at Morgan Stanley

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $107.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on HIG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $107.50.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG opened at $101.75 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $101.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.82. The company has a market capitalization of $30.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.82 and a fifty-two week high of $105.20.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.09). The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 20.64%. The business had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total value of $414,809.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total transaction of $414,809.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan R. Bennett sold 18,335 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $1,847,801.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,584,301.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 94,499 shares of company stock valued at $9,449,309 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Financial Services Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HIG. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,119,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $491,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,290 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,247,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $421,832,000 after purchasing an additional 105,799 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,821,885 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $387,583,000 after purchasing an additional 165,190 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $278,704,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,381,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $271,841,000 after purchasing an additional 18,419 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

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.