BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Boosts Stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,367,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 31,806 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned 0.47% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $137,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $11,394,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 130,785 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,432 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 4,706 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,247,966 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $421,832,000 after purchasing an additional 105,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,556 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIG has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on 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. Bank of America decreased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 that occurred 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 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 is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

HIG stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $116.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,096,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,629,504. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $105.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.38. The company has a market capitalization of $34.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.92. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.82 and a 1 year high of $116.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The Hartford Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.