The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Purchased by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,003,699 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,628 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $80,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HIG. CWM LLC raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,149 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 113.2% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,826 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 3,625 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,589 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 4,106 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $95.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.23. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.05 and a 52 week high of $103.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 21.04% and a net margin of 10.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on HIG shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price (up previously from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.81.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP David C. Robinson sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $1,344,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,201 shares in the company, valued at $735,137.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 27,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total transaction of $2,670,695.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,906 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,803.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David C. Robinson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $1,344,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $735,137.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 106,501 shares of company stock worth $10,141,126 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company 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.