Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $1.77 Million Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3,342.9% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 241 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 49.8% in the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 526.3% in the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. The trade was a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HIG. Barclays raised shares of 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of HIG stock opened at $120.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.94. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $94.47 and a 1 year high of $124.90. 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 (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 20.10%.

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.