Schroder Investment Management Group Raises Stock Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 45.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 888,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 277,379 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $97,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.9% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.94.

Insider Activity

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. The trade was a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total value of $11,805,563.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,412,161.98. The trade was a 31.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $122.21 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $115.52 and its 200 day moving average is $115.27. 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 $94.47 and a 1 year high of $124.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. On average, research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.