Forsta AP Fonden Acquires 5,400 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $13,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 456,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,073,000 after purchasing an additional 97,465 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 229,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,629,000 after purchasing an additional 12,067 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 221,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,309,000 after buying an additional 48,004 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 1st quarter valued at $3,133,000. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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 research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.76.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 6.8 %

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $112.26 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.92 and a 1 year high of $123.23. The stock has a market cap of $32.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $116.31 and a 200 day moving average of $106.93. 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 Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.04. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.62 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a boost from The Hartford Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.77%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to buyback $3.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 10.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.