AIA Group Ltd Acquires 14,557 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 190.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,184 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,557 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 464.8% during the fourth quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Selway Asset Management bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HIG has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 94,807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.65, for a total value of $8,215,026.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,746,097. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 27,004 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.90, for a total transaction of $2,670,695.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,869,803.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 94,807 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.65, for a total value of $8,215,026.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares in the company, valued at $14,746,097. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 202,264 shares of company stock valued at $18,438,369 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 1.2 %

HIG stock opened at $96.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.89. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $67.05 and a 1-year high of $103.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.06.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.84 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 10.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.13 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is 23.53%.

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.