The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Position Trimmed by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lowered its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 135,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,518 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $15,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the third quarter worth $202,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,746 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 28.7% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 331,850 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,029,000 after buying an additional 74,083 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 19.1% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 1,714 shares during the period. Finally, GSB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.4% in the third quarter. GSB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,572 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Argus upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $120.88.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.4 %

HIG opened at $111.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $32.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.68. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.87 and a twelve month high of $123.23.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from The Hartford Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.84%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to buyback $3.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are 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.