The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target Raised to $122.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $117.00 to $122.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on HIG. Argus raised The Hartford Financial Services Group to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $118.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of HIG stock opened at $117.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 1 year low of $68.92 and a 1 year high of $119.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.74.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 11.44%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.36%.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Financial Services Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 72.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,335,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,633,000 after acquiring an additional 559,019 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the first quarter valued at about $53,980,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 301.2% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 333,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,316,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,191,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $328,320,000 after acquiring an additional 233,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the first quarter worth about $21,709,000. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

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.