Hantz Financial Services Inc. Invests $581,000 in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,775 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $581,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bailard Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 19,378 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,948,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.1% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 28.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 519 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.3% during the first quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 2,931 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 34.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HIG. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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 research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup cut shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. Eight equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:HIG traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $116.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,096,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,629,504. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.82 and a 1 year high of $116.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $106.11 and a 200-day moving average of $101.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92. 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 Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to buyback $3.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is 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.