Syon Capital LLC Purchases New Shares in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,421,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $526,242,000 after buying an additional 91,911 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,142,167 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $364,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,420 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,503,815 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $248,646,000 after purchasing an additional 87,001 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,363,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $238,507,000 after purchasing an additional 88,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,088,713 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $219,021,000 after purchasing an additional 28,092 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

HIG stock opened at $95.30 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.05 and a 1 year high of $103.64. The firm has a market cap of $28.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.45.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $6.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 20.64%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 currently 21.36%.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In related news, EVP David C. Robinson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $1,344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $735,137.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 27,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total transaction of $2,670,695.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,803.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David C. Robinson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $1,344,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $735,137.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 106,501 shares of company stock valued at $10,141,126. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $106.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.81.

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.