Armis Advisers LLC Acquires New Shares in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Armis Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,486 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $514,363,000 after buying an additional 202,487 shares in the last quarter. Suncoast Equity Management bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at $311,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,131,000 after buying an additional 10,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 13.9% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 46,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,127,000 after buying an additional 5,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total value of $11,805,563.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,412,161.98. This trade represents a 31.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.42, for a total transaction of $129,690.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,279.24. This trade represents a 63.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,429 shares of company stock worth $13,618,028 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HIG. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.71.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $128.86 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $121.85 and a 200-day moving average of $116.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.16 and a fifty-two week high of $132.09.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.97 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 20.74%.

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.