Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Purchases 8,258 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 3,770.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,477 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,258 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bailard Inc. raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 19,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.1% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 28.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 34.4% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.8% in the first 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 during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on HIG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays started coverage on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, June 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.22.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total value of $414,809.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $117.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.82 and a 12-month high of $117.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $109.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.50.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.