Bridgewater Associates LP Has $37.91 Million Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 346,555 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 77,608 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.12% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $37,913,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HIG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $416,340,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 265.5% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,213,074 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $132,710,000 after purchasing an additional 881,224 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $95,322,000 after buying an additional 709,324 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 11,904.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 631,565 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 626,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter worth about $65,256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $143,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at $26,385,250. The trade was a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. This represents a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 112,343 shares of company stock valued at $13,488,337. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIG has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of 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. Raymond James raised their price target 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. StockNews.com raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $124.13.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $117.84. 1,403,365 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,578,867. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $116.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.36. The firm has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68. 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 fifty-two week low of $94.47 and a fifty-two week high of $125.08.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The Hartford Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

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.