Triad Wealth Partners LLC Buys New Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $70,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 456,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,073,000 after buying an additional 97,465 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 378.8% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 16,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 13,232 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 229,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,629,000 after purchasing an additional 12,067 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 261,995 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $21,059,000 after purchasing an additional 32,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 65.5% in the first quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 34,626 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,584,000 after buying an additional 13,710 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $117.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $116.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, June 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.88.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,582.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:HIG traded up $0.33 on Friday, reaching $110.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,510,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,654,159. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.82 and a 12-month high of $112.65. The stock has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.92. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $103.74 and a 200 day moving average of $99.91.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 10.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.