Bailard Inc. Sells 348 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Bailard Inc. reduced its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,277 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 348 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,421,268 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $526,242,000 after buying an additional 91,911 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,142,167 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $364,631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,420 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.5% in the third 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. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,363,524 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $238,507,000 after purchasing an additional 88,131 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.9% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,088,713 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $219,021,000 after acquiring an additional 28,092 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.74, for a total transaction of $119,533.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,536.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.74, for a total value of $119,533.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,536.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David C. Robinson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.64, for a total value of $1,344,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $735,137.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 106,501 shares of company stock worth $10,141,126 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on HIG. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $105.56.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock traded down $2.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.24. 875,698 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,787,944. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.05 and a fifty-two week high of $103.64. 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 stock has a market cap of $28.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.07.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 10.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.53%.

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.