Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 114,716 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,457,147 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 114,716 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.50% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $159,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 265.5% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,213,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $132,710,000 after acquiring an additional 881,224 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 709,324 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 11,904.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 631,565 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 626,304 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,938,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $430,272,000 after purchasing an additional 581,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 42.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HIG. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE HIG opened at $119.77 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.58. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $94.32 and a one year high of $124.90. The company has a market capitalization of $34.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. 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 Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 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.