DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Reduces Stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lowered its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,508 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,872 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $14,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HIG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth $278,704,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.2% in 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 during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 72.0% in 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 bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,980,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,074,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $86,366,000 after purchasing an additional 495,192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIG has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays assumed coverage on The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE HIG opened at $115.36 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.82 and a 52-week high of $117.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $109.01 and a 200-day moving average of $103.20.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 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, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.30 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total transaction of $414,809.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% 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.