Morgan Stanley Increases The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target to $110.00

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $110.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 12.55% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.47.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

HIG opened at $97.73 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $97.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 1 year low of $67.05 and a 1 year high of $103.64. The stock has a market cap of $29.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.89.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.62. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $6.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total transaction of $784,493.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,468,392. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,332 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.74, for a total transaction of $119,533.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,536.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total transaction of $784,493.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,468,392. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 249,082 shares of company stock worth $22,404,321 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 24,739,482 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,724,094,000 after acquiring an additional 195,900 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,421,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $526,242,000 after purchasing an additional 91,911 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,532,858 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $454,234,000 after buying an additional 74,997 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,119,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $491,915,000 after buying an additional 1,272,290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,612,529 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $403,036,000 after buying an additional 307,231 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

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.