HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Has $690,000 Stock Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC reduced its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,578 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,008 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HIG. Realta Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 3,635 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 10,490 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 5,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.88.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

HIG opened at $98.87 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.01 and a 1 year high of $103.64. The firm has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.89.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.62. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 10.21%. The business had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.53%.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 956 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $82,216.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,635,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 38,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.42, for a total value of $3,713,269.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,600,105.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $82,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,635,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 256,005 shares of company stock worth $22,979,552. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.