Railway Pension Investments Ltd Takes $3.39 Million Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 32,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,390,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 456,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,073,000 after purchasing an additional 97,465 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 378.8% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 16,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 13,232 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 229,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,629,000 after purchasing an additional 12,067 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 261,995 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $21,059,000 after buying an additional 32,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 65.5% in the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 34,626 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,584,000 after buying an additional 13,710 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 72,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total value of $7,186,697.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,896,840.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 72,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total transaction of $7,186,697.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,896,840.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan R. Bennett sold 18,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value of $1,847,801.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,584,301.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 94,499 shares of company stock worth $9,449,309. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on HIG. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.88.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.9 %

HIG traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,850,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,505,915. The business’s 50-day moving average is $102.40 and its 200-day moving average is $98.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $31.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.92. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.82 and a fifty-two week high of $112.65.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 11.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group 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.