The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target Increased to $95.00 by Analysts at Roth Mkm

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price objective increased by Roth Mkm from $90.00 to $95.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James restated an outperform rating and set 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. TD Cowen upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group to $144.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $105.81.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $95.30 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 52 week low of $67.05 and a 52 week high of $103.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.23. The firm has a market cap of $28.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.89. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $6.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 21.04%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 1.97%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 21.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 38,915 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.42, for a total transaction of $3,713,269.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,600,105.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 38,915 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.42, for a total transaction of $3,713,269.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,600,105.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were 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 $56,536.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 106,501 shares of company stock valued at $10,141,126. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Financial Services Group

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in 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 valued at $526,242,000 after purchasing an additional 91,911 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,119,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $491,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,290 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,247,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $421,832,000 after purchasing an additional 105,799 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in 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 valued at $387,583,000 after purchasing an additional 165,190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.