The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 94.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 343,306 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 166,453 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.11% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $27,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 38,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,078,000 after buying an additional 8,776 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 37,148 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,463,000. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.4 %

HIG opened at $97.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $97.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $67.05 and a 12-month high of $103.64.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.84 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 956 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $82,216.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,635,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 956 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $82,216.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,635,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 38,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.42, for a total transaction of $3,713,269.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,600,105.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 249,082 shares of company stock valued at $22,404,321. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of 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. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $106.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.47.

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.