Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Raises Stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 27.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 221,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 48,004 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned approximately 0.08% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $22,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HIG. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,272,290 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,809,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $584,177,000 after purchasing an additional 69,007 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,381,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $271,841,000 after purchasing an additional 18,419 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 233,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,367,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,478,000 after purchasing an additional 31,806 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total value of $414,809.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,582.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Argus upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.22.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE HIG opened at $116.32 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $110.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.83. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.82 and a one year high of $117.84. 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 company has a market cap of $34.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93.

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

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders 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 is Tuesday, September 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.