HUB Investment Partners LLC Purchases 1,113 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,764 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares during the quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HIG. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 265.5% in 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 during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,322,000 after acquiring an additional 709,324 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 11,904.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 631,565 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 626,304 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth about $65,256,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HIG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on 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. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Barclays upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG stock opened at $119.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $114.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $115.05. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.47 and a 52-week high of $124.90. The stock has a market cap of $34.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is 20.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total transaction of $11,805,563.79. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,412,161.98. This trade represents a 31.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value 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 represents a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.