Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 449 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,003 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 449 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $3,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,272,290 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $137,633,000 after acquiring an additional 559,019 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,980,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,074,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $86,366,000 after acquiring an additional 495,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 793.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 325,412 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,156,000 after acquiring an additional 288,984 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.22.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of HIG opened at $116.32 on Monday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.82 and a 12 month high of $117.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $110.62 and its 200-day moving average is $103.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.36%.

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

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the business’s 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 sale, 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 accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.