Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases 626,304 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 11,904.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 631,565 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 626,304 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,468 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on HIG. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Ten 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG opened at $117.92 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.47 and a 1-year high of $124.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $112.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.76. 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 (NYSE:HIG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued 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 yield of 1.76%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 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.