Parallel Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,239 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3,342.9% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 241 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the third quarter valued at $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 49.8% during the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 526.3% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on HIG shares. Barclays raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $1,539,773.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. This represents a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. 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.