FIL Ltd Acquires 34,471 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 150.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 34,471 shares during the period. FIL Ltd’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $6,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,251,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $792,796,000 after purchasing an additional 81,495 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $514,363,000 after acquiring an additional 202,487 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,938,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $430,272,000 after acquiring an additional 581,103 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $416,340,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,448,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $377,319,000 after purchasing an additional 25,053 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $116.05 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $116.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.33. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $33.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $94.47 and a one year high of $125.08.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $143,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at $26,385,250. This represents a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 112,343 shares of company stock valued at $13,488,337. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HIG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $124.13.

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.