Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 196,138 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 27,436 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $21,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HIG. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter worth $263,000. Stevens Capital Management LP boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 147.1% in the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 4,621 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 2,751 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter worth about $29,162,000. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 66,127 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,234,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $123.78.

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Insider Buying and Selling

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG stock traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $123.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,137,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,578,410. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.75 and a 200 day moving average of $115.33. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.47 and a 12-month high of $124.90. The stock has a market cap of $35.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91.

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

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.