The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Bought by MBB Public Markets I LLC

MBB Public Markets I LLC raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 877.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,830 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,699 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $2,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HIG. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,119,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $491,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,290 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 72.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,335,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,633,000 after acquiring an additional 559,019 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,980,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 793.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 325,412 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,156,000 after buying an additional 288,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 301.2% in the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 333,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,316,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on HIG. Citigroup downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Argus upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 report on Thursday, August 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.22.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.2 %

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $116.78 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $111.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.82 and a one year high of $117.84.

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

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is 21.36%.

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.