Vontobel Holding Ltd. Acquires 133 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,493 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 72.0% in the first 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 purchasing an additional 559,019 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the first quarter valued at about $53,980,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 301.2% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 333,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,316,000 after acquiring an additional 250,000 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.9% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,191,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $328,320,000 after acquiring an additional 233,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $21,709,000. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.3 %

HIG stock opened at $122.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 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 twelve month low of $68.92 and a twelve month high of $123.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.34 and its 200-day moving average is $106.34.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 11.44%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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 of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Citigroup downgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $114.00 in a report on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.