Bank of America Corp DE Cuts Stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,844,521 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 472,876 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.64% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $201,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HIG. Horizon Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter worth $277,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $95,322,000 after buying an additional 709,324 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Suncoast Equity Management purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $311,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 28,622 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,131,000 after acquiring an additional 10,964 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HIG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 1,144 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $143,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares in the company, valued at $26,385,250. This trade represents a 0.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. The trade was a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,429 shares of company stock valued at $13,618,028. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

NYSE HIG opened at $128.27 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.75. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.16 and a 52 week high of $129.55. The stock has a market cap of $36.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70. 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 (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The Hartford Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

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.

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