The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Upgraded to Overweight at Barclays

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) was upgraded by analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm currently has a $135.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $130.00. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 23.29% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.28.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $109.50 on Monday. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a twelve month low of $81.04 and a twelve month high of $124.90. The stock has a market cap of $31.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 6,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.04, for a total value of $803,479.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,021,972.80. This trade represents a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Financial Services Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,938,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $430,272,000 after buying an additional 581,103 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,064 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,873 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,619,000 after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SMART Wealth LLC acquired a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $258,000. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.