Raiffeisen Bank International AG Invests $1.67 Million in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,274 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,669,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HIG. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,540 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 19,928 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,180,000 after buying an additional 2,837 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3,342.9% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 241 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 2,962 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,712,661.60. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,086 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.42, for a total value of $129,690.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 622 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $74,279.24. This represents a 63.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,429 shares of company stock valued at $13,618,028. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.71.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of HIG stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $131.14. 1,019,238 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,568,806. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.16 and a fifty-two week high of $132.09. The company has a market cap of $37.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50 day moving average is $120.97 and its 200-day moving average is $116.47.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.05. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group's payout ratio is 20.74%.

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.