The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,291,881 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 81,064 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $250,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 881,224 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% during the 4th 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 period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,938,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $430,272,000 after purchasing an additional 581,103 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 42.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 935,298 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $110,000,000 after purchasing an additional 277,295 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 809,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $88,550,000 after purchasing an additional 246,528 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HIG. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $115.38 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $32.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.32 and a 12-month high of $124.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $111.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.33.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. Equities research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend 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.