Smithfield Trust Co Buys 100 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 26.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 475 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $51,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $514,363,000 after acquiring an additional 202,487 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $656,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,457,147 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $159,412,000 after acquiring an additional 114,716 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,913,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $209,382,000 after acquiring an additional 39,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 12,836 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 4,127 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on HIG. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.7 %

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $117.82 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.47 and a 12-month high of $124.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.19 and its 200 day moving average is $114.65. The company has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.38, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group 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.