8,700 Shares in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Purchased by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $952,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HIG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3,342.9% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 241 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 49.8% during 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 period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 526.3% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.78.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG stock opened at $123.73 on Tuesday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.47 and a fifty-two week high of $124.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.33.

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group 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.