Cetera Trust Company N.A Invests $40,000 in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Cetera Trust Company N.A purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 464.8% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Selway Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 94,807 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.65, for a total transaction of $8,215,026.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,746,097. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 94,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.65, for a total value of $8,215,026.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,746,097. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 27,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total value of $2,670,695.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,869,803.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 201,308 shares of company stock valued at $18,356,153. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $106.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.56.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.9 %

HIG opened at $99.82 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.97 and a 200-day moving average of $85.67. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.05 and a fifty-two week high of $103.64.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 10.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

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

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.