Brokerages Set The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Target Price at $105.56

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $105.81.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HIG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,468,392. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,332 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.74, for a total transaction of $119,533.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,536.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 106,501 shares of company stock worth $10,141,126 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HIG. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.3% in the first quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 2,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Realta Investment Advisors lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 3,635 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 25,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,204 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 3.8 %

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $95.30 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.45. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a twelve month low of $67.05 and a twelve month high of $103.64. The firm has a market cap of $28.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.09). The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 21.04% and a net margin of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is 21.36%.

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.