American Century Companies Inc. Buys 40,672 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 643,235 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,672 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.22% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $70,370,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 46.5% during the fourth 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 period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.0% in the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,468 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated 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. StockNews.com cut The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.94.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total transaction of $11,805,563.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,412,161.98. This trade represents a 31.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $121.46 on Wednesday. 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 1-year low of $94.47 and a 1-year high of $124.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.12.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

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.