Picton Mahoney Asset Management Decreases Stock Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Picton Mahoney Asset Management cut its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,488 shares during the quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $7,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aviso Financial Inc. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Aviso Financial Inc. now owns 19,791 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 120,680 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,202,000 after purchasing an additional 14,950 shares during the period. PGGM Investments increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 93,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,975,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 550,364 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,210,000 after purchasing an additional 63,529 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HIG. Barclays raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE HIG opened at $119.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.90. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.47 and a 1-year high of $124.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

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.