The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Purchased by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 7.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 561,488 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 40,778 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.19% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $56,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 19,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.22.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $116.70 on Thursday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.82 and a twelve month high of $117.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $34.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.60.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 11.44%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.36%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total transaction of $414,809.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,503,582.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company 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.