Natixis Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 180,606 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,991 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $19,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $514,363,000 after purchasing an additional 202,487 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,938,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $430,272,000 after purchasing an additional 581,103 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,913,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $209,382,000 after purchasing an additional 39,585 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,457,147 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $159,412,000 after purchasing an additional 114,716 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,234,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $135,052,000 after purchasing an additional 34,938 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 note on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of 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. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE:HIG opened at $118.81 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $113.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.96. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.47 and a 1-year high of $124.90. 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 firm has a market cap of $33.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. The trade was a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.