The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target Increased to $105.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price objective lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $92.00 to $105.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on HIG. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to $144.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $101.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

NYSE HIG opened at $97.78 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 1 year low of $67.01 and a 1 year high of $103.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $29.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.24, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $97.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.53.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.62. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The company had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.47 dividend. 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 1.92%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 23.53%.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total transaction of $784,493.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,468,392. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 14,528 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.97, for a total transaction of $1,365,196.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,397,044.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total transaction of $784,493.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,468,392. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 253,715 shares of company stock worth $22,789,138 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hartford Financial Services Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 3,635 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 25,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,630,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

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.