Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 495 The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 495 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $58,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the first quarter valued at $417,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 1st quarter worth about $274,000. Signet Financial Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 31,323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,228,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 9.4% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.2% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 81,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.59.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG opened at $120.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $35.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.92 and a one year high of $123.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.86 and a 200-day moving average of $106.62.

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 the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current year.

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group 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.