State of Wyoming Grows Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 82.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,943 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,691 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 4,468 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 475 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total value of $11,805,563.79. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at $25,412,161.98. The trade was a 31.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $1,539,773.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,429 shares of company stock valued at $13,618,028. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.07.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 1.4%

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $131.09 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.16 and a 12 month high of $132.49. The firm has a market cap of $37.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.