Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 81,495 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,251,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 81,495 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $792,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nemes Rush Group LLC bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $399,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 119.3% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 373,919 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,909,000 after buying an additional 203,447 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC increased its stake 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 worth $751,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 888,632 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $97,101,000 after buying an additional 277,379 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. Barclays upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.61.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

HIG stock opened at $124.98 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $116.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.46. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.47 and a 52-week high of $125.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91.

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

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.