The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,292 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 663 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $2,443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in 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 valued at $491,915,000 after buying an additional 1,272,290 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,809,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $584,177,000 after acquiring an additional 69,007 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,381,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $271,841,000 after purchasing an additional 18,419 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,191,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $328,320,000 after purchasing an additional 233,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,497,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $150,605,000 after purchasing an additional 70,018 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on HIG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $121.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.47.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of HIG stock opened at $118.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.92 and a fifty-two week high of $119.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $113.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.15. The stock has a market cap of $34.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 21.36%.

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group 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.