Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Cuts Stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,236 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 39,327 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $7,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Bailard Inc. grew its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 19,378 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,987 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 99.6% in the second quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC now owns 4,653 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.3% in the second quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 347,700 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,121,000 after purchasing an additional 17,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2,354.5% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 540 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup cut shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, June 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Argus raised The Hartford Financial Services Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued 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 target price of $110.88.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $116.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,096,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,629,504. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $106.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.55. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.82 and a one year high of $116.51.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The Hartford Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 10.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total value of $414,809.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group 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.