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

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 231,539 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,600 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.08% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $25,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 265.5% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,213,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $132,710,000 after buying an additional 881,224 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $95,322,000 after acquiring an additional 709,324 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 581,103 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 42.1% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 935,298 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $110,000,000 after buying an additional 277,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7,564.9% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 248,648 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,243,000 after purchasing an additional 245,404 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE HIG opened at $111.37 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $110.96 and a 200 day moving average of $114.05. 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 $93.78 and a 1 year high of $124.90. The company has a market capitalization of $32.28 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.97.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its 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%. Research analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HIG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.94.

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.