New York Life Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $3,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,247,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $421,832,000 after buying an additional 105,799 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 4,706 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Bluesphere Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 83,643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,722,000 after acquiring an additional 6,483 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,332 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $56,536.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $89.74, for a total value 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 $56,536.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 14,528 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.97, for a total value of $1,365,196.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,397,044.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 106,501 shares of company stock valued at $10,141,126. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $97.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $28.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $98.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.14. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.05 and a 12-month high of $103.64.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 10.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.