ING Groep NV Takes $1.43 Million Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

ING Groep NV bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,433,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,234,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $135,052,000 after buying an additional 34,938 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 265.5% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,213,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $132,710,000 after buying an additional 881,224 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 42.1% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 935,298 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $110,000,000 after buying an additional 277,295 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,322,000 after buying an additional 709,324 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HIG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

HIG stock opened at $111.37 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.22. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.78 and a 52-week high of $124.90. 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 Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

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.