The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Bought by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

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Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG – Get Rating) by 49.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 318,658 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,804 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned about 0.10% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $19,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 259.6% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,020,124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $64,033,000 after buying an additional 736,462 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 722.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 757,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,367,000 after buying an additional 665,100 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 278.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 815,805 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $50,531,000 after buying an additional 600,034 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the third quarter valued at $27,257,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 155.6% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 586,684 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $38,365,000 after buying an additional 357,138 shares in the last quarter. 89.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $74.31 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.17 and a 12-month high of $79.44. The stock has a market cap of $23.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.30 and a 200 day moving average of $69.34.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.15. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 1st were issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. This is a positive change from The Hartford Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 30th. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is presently 29.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 7,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.02, for a total value of $554,337.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,891,765.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP David C. Robinson sold 18,534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.93, for a total value of $1,388,752.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 7,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.02, for a total transaction of $554,337.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,275 shares in the company, valued at $10,891,765.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 224,198 shares of company stock worth $16,404,676 in the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on HIG. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.50.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company Profile

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The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc is an insurance and financial services company. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, Property & Casualty Other Operations, Group Benefits, Hartford Funds, and Corporate. The Commercial Lines segment provides workers’ compensation, property, automobile, liability and umbrella coverage under several different products.