Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys New Shares in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 87,206 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,549,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HIG. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter worth about $418,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,257,000. Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 39,678 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,341,000 after buying an additional 11,836 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,621 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,448,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $377,319,000 after buying an additional 25,053 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $143,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,385,250. The trade was a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,343 shares of company stock worth $13,488,337 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.47.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

HIG stock opened at $113.56 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $32.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.47 and a 12 month high of $125.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $116.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.10%.

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.