Rhumbline Advisers Has $60.44 Million Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Rhumbline Advisers decreased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 601,165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,285 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.21% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $60,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 189.9% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Argus upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup cut shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.88.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In related news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total transaction of $414,809.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.2 %

HIG opened at $116.00 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.12. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.82 and a fifty-two week high of $117.46. The company has a market cap of $34.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 10.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About The Hartford Financial Services Group

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.