Cidel Asset Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 306.5% during the 4th quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 21,865 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,392,000 after buying an additional 16,486 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 32,493 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,555,000 after buying an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 57,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,619,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on HIG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.94.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 6,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.04, for a total transaction of $803,479.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,021,972.80. This trade represents a 21.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $113.52 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.04 and a 12 month high of $124.90.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.