Steph & Co. Sells 184 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Steph & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,582 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. Steph & Co.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $661,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.6% in the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 4,566 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HIG. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.28.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In related news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 6,865 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

HIG stock opened at $111.27 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.87 and a 52 week high of $124.90. The stock has a market cap of $32.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.98.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is an increase from The Hartford Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.84%.

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.