Shares of Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG – Free Report) by 8.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,595 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,033 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the second quarter valued at about $220,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.7% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 31,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2,381.0% in the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 6.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,132 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding SA boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.4% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding SA now owns 1,367,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,478,000 after buying an additional 31,806 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of shares are owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG stock opened at $116.10 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $106.11, and its two-hundred-day moving average is $101.55. 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 firm has a market cap of $34.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.92. Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.82 and a 1 year high of $116.51.

Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG – Get Your Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.26. Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. In the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.88 per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.88 and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.36%.

Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that company management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst upgrades and downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HIG. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Argus raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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, August 1. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The Hartford Financial Services Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.88, based on data from MarketBeat.com.

Check out our latest analysis of Hartford Financial Services Group

Insider buying and selling

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total value of $414,809.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed via this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s shares.

Hartford Financial Services Group Profile

(Free report)

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. The Commercial Lines segment offers insurance coverages including workers compensation, property, automobile, general and professional liability, business package, umbrella, fidelity and surety, marine, animal, casualty, health and reinsurance through regional offices, branches, sales and insured . service centers, independent retail agents and brokers, wholesale agents and reinsurance brokers.

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