Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 14,950 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,680 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,950 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $13,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HIG. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 111,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,063,000 after buying an additional 7,350 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 137,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,172,000 after buying an additional 4,449 shares during the period. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $277,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,005,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 314,849 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,029,000 after purchasing an additional 10,566 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. The trade was a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 1.4 %

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $118.81 on Wednesday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.47 and a 52 week high of $124.90. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $33.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.96.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 EPS 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%. Analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

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.