Virtus ETF Advisers LLC Has $1.11 Million Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Virtus ETF Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 25.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,148 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares during the quarter. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3,342.9% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 241 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 49.8% in the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 526.3% during the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HIG shares. 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 The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $1,539,773.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $143,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,385,250. This trade represents a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 112,343 shares of company stock valued at $13,488,337 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $118.79 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $34.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.47 and a 12-month high of $125.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.41.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly 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 Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group 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.