Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Sells 20,292 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,228 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 20,292 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $15,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HIG. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 111,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,063,000 after purchasing an additional 7,350 shares during the period. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth $277,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the third quarter worth $19,005,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,322,000 after purchasing an additional 709,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $514,363,000 after purchasing an additional 202,487 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $143,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at $26,385,250. The trade was a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 112,343 shares of company stock valued at $13,488,337. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG stock opened at $113.56 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $116.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.47. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $94.47 and a 52-week high of $125.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James increased their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.47.

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.