Horizon Advisory Services Inc. Purchases New Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Horizon Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,535 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 111,134 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,063,000 after acquiring an additional 7,350 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 137,506 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $16,172,000 after purchasing an additional 4,449 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the third quarter valued at about $19,005,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.5% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 314,849 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,029,000 after purchasing an additional 10,566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $95,322,000 after purchasing an additional 709,324 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HIG. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG stock traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $118.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,524,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,747,292. The stock has a market cap of $33.80 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.32 and a 12-month high of $124.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $111.54 and a 200 day moving average of $114.35. 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 (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.