California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 32,596 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,380,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 32,596 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $150,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.1% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 111,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,063,000 after buying an additional 7,350 shares during the period. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $277,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $19,005,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake 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 period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $514,363,000 after purchasing an additional 202,487 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $1,539,773.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total value of $11,805,563.79. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,412,161.98. The trade was a 31.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.6 %

HIG opened at $122.21 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $115.52 and its 200 day moving average is $115.27. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.47 and a fifty-two week high of $124.90.

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

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

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.