The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target Lowered to $111.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $117.00 to $111.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James restated an outperform rating and set a $120.00 target price (up previously from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group to $144.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $105.44.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $97.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.64. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 1-year low of $67.05 and a 1-year high of $103.64. The firm has a market cap of $28.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.89.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.09). The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $784,493.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,468,392. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David C. Robinson sold 15,000 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total transaction of $1,344,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,201 shares in the company, valued at $735,137.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 106,501 shares of company stock valued at $10,141,126 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HIG. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,421,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $526,242,000 after purchasing an additional 91,911 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,119,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $491,915,000 after buying an additional 1,272,290 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,247,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $421,832,000 after acquiring an additional 105,799 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,821,885 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $387,583,000 after acquiring an additional 165,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,503,815 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $248,646,000 after purchasing an additional 87,001 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

About The Hartford Financial Services Group

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.