AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Increases Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 257,767 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 11,830 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.09% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $25,916,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.1% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 456,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $47,073,000 after purchasing an additional 97,465 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 378.8% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 16,725 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 13,232 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 229,305 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $23,629,000 after buying an additional 12,067 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 261,995 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $21,059,000 after acquiring an additional 32,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 34,626 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,584,000 after acquiring an additional 13,710 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $117.00 to $111.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.88.

Insider Activity

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total transaction of $414,809.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $113.46. 1,243,764 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,627,632. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.82 and a 12-month high of $114.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $105.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.03. The company has a market cap of $33.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.92.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.02 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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