California Public Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 573,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 28,066 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $46,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,421,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $526,242,000 after acquiring an additional 91,911 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,142,167 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $364,631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,420 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,503,815 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $248,646,000 after purchasing an additional 87,001 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,363,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $238,507,000 after purchasing an additional 88,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,088,713 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $219,021,000 after purchasing an additional 28,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.81.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 14,528 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.97, for a total value of $1,365,196.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,792 shares in the company, valued at $4,397,044.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 14,528 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.97, for a total value of $1,365,196.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,397,044.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,332 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.74, for a total transaction of $119,533.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,536.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 106,501 shares of company stock worth $10,141,126 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG stock opened at $95.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $98.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.23. The firm has a market cap of $28.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.89. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.05 and a fifty-two week high of $103.64.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.09). The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 21.04%. The company had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is presently 21.36%.

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.