The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Position Boosted by Meeder Advisory Services Inc.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 21.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,517 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the second quarter valued at $213,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 456,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,073,000 after purchasing an additional 97,465 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 378.8% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 16,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 13,232 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 229,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,629,000 after purchasing an additional 12,067 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 261,995 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $21,059,000 after purchasing an additional 32,534 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total value of $414,809.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on HIG shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays assumed coverage on The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Argus raised The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $115.36 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.82 and a 52 week high of $117.68. The firm has a market cap of $33.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 10.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is 21.36%.

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.