Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Trims Stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 289,548 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 33,972 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.10% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $35,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HIG. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,251,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $792,796,000 after acquiring an additional 81,495 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $514,363,000 after purchasing an additional 202,487 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position 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 worth $419,053,000 after purchasing an additional 234,320 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter worth $416,340,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 worth $387,021,000 after purchasing an additional 519,717 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,086 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.42, for a total value of $129,690.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,279.24. This represents a 63.58% 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,429 shares of company stock worth $13,618,028 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE HIG opened at $129.39 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $123.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.74. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $98.16 and a one year high of $132.09. The company has a market capitalization of $36.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32.

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

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