LPL Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,785 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,333 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $6,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Partners LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 372.7% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 41.3% during the 1st quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management LLC increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 114.5% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Management LLC now owns 680 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Stephanie C. Bush sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.40, for a total value of $253,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,063 shares in the company, valued at $1,090,561.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,172 shares of company stock worth $302,012. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $94.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $86.00 to $94.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Tuesday, June 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.46.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

NYSE HIG opened at $72.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.41 and its 200 day moving average is $71.58. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.17 and a fifty-two week high of $79.44.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 17.54% and a net margin of 8.53%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.33%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company Profile

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc 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, and reinsurance through regional offices, branches, sales and policyholder service centers, independent retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents, and reinsurance brokers.