Brokerages Set The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) PT at $123.24

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.13.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th.

Insider Activity

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value 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 approximately $26,385,250. The trade was a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,343 shares of company stock valued at $13,488,337 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 13.1% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 32,239 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,792,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 88,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,360,000 after purchasing an additional 4,584 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 41,166 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,842,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 146,975 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,286,000 after buying an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:HIG opened at $116.05 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $94.47 and a fifty-two week high of $125.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, 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, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid 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 dividend yield of 1.79%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 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.