PGGM Investments Grows Stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

PGGM Investments boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 85,681 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,716 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $6,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 695,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,870,000 after acquiring an additional 146,868 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 6,198.4% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 7,684 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after acquiring an additional 7,562 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 43.7% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 130,785 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 27,004 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total value of $2,670,695.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,803.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,516 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.55, for a total value of $143,337.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,566.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 27,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total transaction of $2,670,695.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,803.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 106,501 shares of company stock worth $10,141,126 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.81.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 3.8 %

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock traded down $3.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.30. 2,889,683 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,622,156. The company has a market cap of $28.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.89. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.05 and a twelve month high of $103.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $98.50 and a 200-day moving average of $86.34.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released 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 business had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 21.04% and a net margin of 10.87%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.36%.

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.