Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Sells 656 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 656 shares during the quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HIG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at $416,340,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 265.5% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,213,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $132,710,000 after buying an additional 881,224 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 626,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,256,000. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total value of $11,805,563.79. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,412,161.98. This trade represents a 31.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,343 shares of company stock worth $13,488,337 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG stock opened at $109.83 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $116.32 and its 200 day moving average is $115.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.47 and a 52-week high of $125.08.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was 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.