New Vernon Investment Management LLC Has $274,000 Stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

New Vernon Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 95.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 57,024 shares during the quarter. New Vernon Investment Management LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter worth $277,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 709,324 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $514,363,000 after purchasing an additional 202,487 shares during the last quarter. Suncoast Equity Management bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth about $311,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,131,000 after purchasing an additional 10,964 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,385,250. The trade was a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. The trade was a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,343 shares of company stock valued at $13,488,337. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HIG. 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.13.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $118.89 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.47 and a 1-year high of $125.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $117.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.39. The company has a market cap of $34.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.97 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

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.