The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Purchased by NewEdge Advisors LLC

NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,454 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,411 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $4,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,809,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $584,177,000 after buying an additional 69,007 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,381,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $271,841,000 after buying an additional 18,419 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.9% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,191,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $328,320,000 after buying an additional 233,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,497,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $150,605,000 after buying an additional 70,018 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HIG shares. Argus raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Citigroup lowered shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, June 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.22.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE HIG opened at $117.58 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $112.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.94. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.82 and a 12 month high of $119.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.93.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.30 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board 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.