The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Stock Holdings Lowered by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lowered its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,668 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,514 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HIG. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.1% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 8,819 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 19,284 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,236,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $179,729,000 after purchasing an additional 129,120 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 112.8% in the fourth quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 33,957 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, June 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Argus raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.22.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $115.94 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.68. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.82 and a 52 week high of $117.84. The stock has a market cap of $34.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a PEG 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 (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.26. The business 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 net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 21.36%.

About The Hartford Financial Services Group

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.