Headlands Technologies LLC Grows Stock Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 494.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,693 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,251,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $792,796,000 after acquiring an additional 81,495 shares during the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $399,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 119.3% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 373,919 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,909,000 after purchasing an additional 203,447 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 6,839 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. This represents a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total transaction of $11,805,563.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,412,161.98. This trade represents a 31.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on HIG shares. StockNews.com cut The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.61.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.5 %

HIG stock opened at $124.34 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.39. The company has a market capitalization of $35.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.47 and a twelve month high of $124.90.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

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.