Swiss National Bank Trims Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 956,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 41,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.32% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $76,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 464.8% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Selway Asset Management acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the third quarter worth about $29,000. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,820 shares in the company, valued at $2,468,392. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total transaction of $784,493.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,820 shares in the company, valued at $2,468,392. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 38,915 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.42, for a total value of $3,713,269.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,600,105.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 106,501 shares of company stock worth $10,141,126. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.4 %

HIG opened at $97.90 on Monday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.05 and a 12-month high of $103.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $98.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.34.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 21.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HIG. UBS Group boosted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.44.

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.