Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 9,040 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 24.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,793 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,040 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $5,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HIG. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the third quarter worth about $474,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,768 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $271,000. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $115.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.47 and a 52-week high of $124.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.84.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HIG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

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.