1,700 Shares in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Bought by Davis Investment Partners LLC

Davis Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HIG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth about $416,340,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 14,049.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,424,009 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,761,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413,945 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 265.5% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,213,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $132,710,000 after buying an additional 881,224 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 48.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,264,397 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $247,761,000 after buying an additional 735,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 11,904.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 631,565 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 626,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,086 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.42, for a total transaction of $129,690.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,279.24. This represents a 63.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $143,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,291 shares of company stock valued at $12,078,254. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HIG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Seven equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.71.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $124.30 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $35.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.71. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $98.16 and a one year high of $132.09.

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.74%.

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.