Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd Buys New Shares in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2,750.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 285 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 593,589 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $59,679,000 after acquiring an additional 61,548 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 16,657 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 561,488 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $56,452,000 after purchasing an additional 40,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 18,458 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $121.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $135.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.50.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

HIG stock opened at $107.44 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.87 and a 12-month high of $124.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.98.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from The Hartford Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 6,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.04, for a total transaction of $803,479.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,021,972.80. The trade was a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company 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.