The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 301,969 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 53,345 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.10% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $24,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 3,635 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,490 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 5,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David C. Robinson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $1,344,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $735,137.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP David C. Robinson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $1,344,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $735,137.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 27,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total value of $2,670,695.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,803.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 106,501 shares of company stock valued at $10,141,126. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.81.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $95.30 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.05 and a 1-year high of $103.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $98.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.89.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 21.04%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.36%.

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.