The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Bought by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 562,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,035 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $66,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 19,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of 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. 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 report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Argus upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.59.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

HIG opened at $118.57 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.92 and a 1 year high of $120.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.