The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Purchased by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 764 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,119,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $491,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,290 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,809,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $584,177,000 after acquiring an additional 69,007 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,381,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $271,841,000 after acquiring an additional 18,419 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.9% during the first 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. lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.4% in the second 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 during the period. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on HIG shares. Barclays started coverage on The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup lowered shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.22.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $116.96 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $68.82 and a one year high of $117.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $110.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 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 issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.30 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total value of $414,809.36. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.