Vest Financial LLC Raises Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 29.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 298,884 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 67,224 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.10% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $32,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% during 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 buying an additional 581,103 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,234,480 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $135,052,000 after buying an additional 34,938 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 935,298 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $110,000,000 after buying an additional 277,295 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $95,322,000 after buying an additional 709,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 31,680.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 694,084 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $816,310,000 after buying an additional 691,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. UBS Group raised their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock traded down $0.48 on Tuesday, hitting $111.48. 1,080,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,677,861. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $111.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.99. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $89.79 and a 1-year high of $124.90. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In related news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 6,865 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.04, for a total value of $803,479.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,820 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,021,972.80. This represents a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.