Syon Capital LLC Buys Shares of 2,596 The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,050 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,971 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 27,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,238,000 after acquiring an additional 3,055 shares in the last quarter. Power Corp of Canada bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter worth about $266,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,119,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $491,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272,290 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jonathan R. Bennett sold 18,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total transaction of $1,847,801.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,584,301.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 72,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total transaction of $7,186,697.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,896,840.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan R. Bennett sold 18,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value of $1,847,801.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,584,301.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.24.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $102.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $30.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.93. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.82 and a one year high of $103.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.29.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 10.87%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 9.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.36%.

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.