Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 8,203 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 49,614 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,203 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $4,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 79,730 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,818 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 44,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,557,000 after acquiring an additional 6,588 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 24,595 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,977,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter worth $1,801,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 173.0% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,723 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $862,000 after purchasing an additional 6,795 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 27,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total transaction of $2,670,695.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,803.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 27,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total transaction of $2,670,695.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,803.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total transaction of $784,493.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,468,392. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 249,082 shares of company stock valued at $22,404,321. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on HIG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.56.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 2.0 %

HIG stock opened at $95.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.48 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.89. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.05 and a 12 month high of $103.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.49 and its 200 day moving average is $84.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.53%.

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.