TD Asset Management Inc Acquires 114,986 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 57.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 315,291 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,986 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.11% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $31,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 78,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,402,000 after purchasing an additional 3,297 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,266 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 16,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,893 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,859,422 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $149,460,000 after purchasing an additional 29,605 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total transaction of $414,809.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $114.49 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.93. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.82 and a 1-year high of $117.46.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.