The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,599 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,741 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 189.9% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 374 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In related 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 value of $7,186,697.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,896,840.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,896,840.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total transaction of $414,809.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,582.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 94,499 shares of company stock worth $9,449,309 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Argus upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.88.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG traded down $3.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $105.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,096,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,667,974. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.57. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.82 and a 1-year high of $112.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $31.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.92.

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors 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 yield of 1.79%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.