MV Capital Management Inc. Sells 313 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

MV Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,562 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 313 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 111,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,063,000 after acquiring an additional 7,350 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $277,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the third quarter valued at about $19,005,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,322,000 after purchasing an additional 709,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $514,363,000 after buying an additional 202,487 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on HIG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total transaction of $11,805,563.79. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at $25,412,161.98. This represents a 31.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $122.21 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $115.52 and its 200 day moving average is $115.27. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.47 and a 52 week high of $124.90. The company has a market cap of $34.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.10%.

About The Hartford Financial Services Group

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.