Wealth Alliance Sells 506 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Wealth Alliance decreased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,006 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 506 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HIG. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,938,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $430,272,000 after purchasing an additional 581,103 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,234,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $135,052,000 after purchasing an additional 34,938 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 265.5% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,213,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $132,710,000 after purchasing an additional 881,224 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 42.1% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 935,298 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $110,000,000 after purchasing an additional 277,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,322,000 after purchasing an additional 709,324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

NYSE:HIG opened at $111.37 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $93.78 and a one year high of $124.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $32.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $110.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.05.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. Research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group 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.