The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Purchased by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 68.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 723,925 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 294,836 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.25% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $79,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3,342.9% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 241 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the third quarter valued at $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 49.8% in the fourth quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HIG shares. Barclays upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total value of $11,805,563.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,412,161.98. This represents a 31.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. The trade was a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of HIG stock opened at $119.73 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.47 and a 1-year high of $124.90. The firm has a market cap of $34.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

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.