M&T Bank Corp Grows Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,025 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,569 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $2,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 20,259 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,628,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 316.4% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 16,274 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 12,366 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 472,651 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,991,000 after purchasing an additional 26,178 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,247,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $421,832,000 after purchasing an additional 105,799 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $117.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.44.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In related news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,516 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.55, for a total value of $143,337.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,566.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,516 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.55, for a total transaction of $143,337.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,566.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 38,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.42, for a total value of $3,713,269.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,600,105.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,169 shares of company stock valued at $8,676,992 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:HIG opened at $99.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $67.42 and a one year high of $103.64. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.74. The stock has a market cap of $29.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.90.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $6.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 20.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.36%.

About The Hartford Financial Services Group

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.