The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Position Cut by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 37.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,391 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 38,172 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $7,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,251,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $792,796,000 after purchasing an additional 81,495 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 202,487 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,830,462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $419,053,000 after purchasing an additional 234,320 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at $416,340,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,537,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $387,021,000 after purchasing an additional 519,717 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HIG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,385,250. This represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,429 shares of company stock worth $13,618,028 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

NYSE HIG opened at $130.96 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $122.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.09. 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 firm has a market cap of $37.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results 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 Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.74%.

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.