Scotia Capital Inc. Invests $509,000 in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Scotia Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,652 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $509,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HIG. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,251,389 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $792,796,000 after acquiring an additional 81,495 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $514,363,000 after purchasing an additional 202,487 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,938,421 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $430,272,000 after purchasing an additional 581,103 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $416,340,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,448,982 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $377,319,000 after buying an additional 25,053 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HIG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $124.13.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:HIG traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $117.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,403,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,578,867. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $116.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.36. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.47 and a twelve month high of $125.08. The firm has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. On average, equities analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In related news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total transaction of $11,805,563.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,412,161.98. This represents a 31.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $1,539,773.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 112,343 shares of company stock valued at $13,488,337. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.