Morgan Stanley Increases The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target to $110.00

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $110.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

HIG has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $106.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $103.82.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE:HIG opened at $97.31 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $28.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.71. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a twelve month low of $67.05 and a twelve month high of $103.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 4,633 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.06, for a total value of $384,816.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,135,150.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 4,633 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.06, for a total transaction of $384,816.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,135,150.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.74, for a total value of $119,533.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,536.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 253,715 shares of company stock valued at $22,789,138. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 1st quarter valued at $674,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 88.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 5,278 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 235.4% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 751 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.