California State Teachers Retirement System Has $44.52 Million Stock Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 406,908 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 43,733 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.14% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $44,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,251,389 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $792,796,000 after purchasing an additional 81,495 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $514,363,000 after buying an additional 202,487 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,830,462 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $419,053,000 after purchasing an additional 234,320 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter worth about $416,340,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,537,665 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $387,021,000 after purchasing an additional 519,717 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,086 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.42, for a total transaction of $129,690.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 622 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,279.24. The trade was a 63.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,429 shares of company stock worth $13,618,028. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HIG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $133.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.71.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.01. 4,803,044 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,582,768. The stock has a market cap of $36.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.35. 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 Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS 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, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The Hartford Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is 20.74%.

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.