Huntington National Bank Boosts Stock Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,468 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.47.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In related news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,412,161.98. This represents a 31.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. This represents a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

HIG stock opened at $123.38 on Friday. 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 $125.08. The company has a market cap of $35.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $116.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.51.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

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.