Private Advisor Group LLC Grows Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,729 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $2,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HIG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3,342.9% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 241 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the third quarter valued at $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 49.8% in the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 526.3% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on HIG. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Ten equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of HIG opened at $116.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. 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 Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.32 and a 1-year high of $124.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $111.16 and a 200 day moving average of $114.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is 20.10%.

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.