The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Bought by RiverFront Investment Group LLC

RiverFront Investment Group LLC increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 243,796 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,553 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $26,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Investment Services LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 39,886 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 289,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,703,000 after buying an additional 54,915 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 383,830 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,991,000 after buying an additional 15,287 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 123,041 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,461,000 after acquiring an additional 34,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3,110.5% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 4,728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total transaction of $11,805,563.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,412,161.98. This trade represents a 31.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $1,539,773.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.6 %

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $122.21 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.47 and a 12-month high of $124.90. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $34.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.27.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company 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.