Trust Co. of Vermont Grows Stock Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $47,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HIG. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 72.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,335,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,633,000 after buying an additional 559,019 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 1st quarter valued at $53,980,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 301.2% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 333,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,316,000 after buying an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,191,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $328,320,000 after buying an additional 233,742 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 1st quarter valued at $21,709,000. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $122.00 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $115.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.34. The firm has a market cap of $36.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.92 and a 12-month high of $123.23.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HIG. Argus raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup downgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 report on Monday, July 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $120.59.

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.