Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 15,120 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,554 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 15,120 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $13,954,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 101.9% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 9,601 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 4,845 shares in the last quarter. City National Bank of Florida MSD bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $304,000. JT Stratford LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,523,000. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 71,700 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,845,000 after acquiring an additional 10,190 shares during the period. Finally, CSS LLC IL acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $899,000. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HIG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $129.71.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE HIG traded up $0.93 on Thursday, reaching $130.15. The company had a trading volume of 1,286,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,572,185. The firm has a market cap of $36.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, 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 Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.16 and a fifty-two week high of $132.09. The business has a 50 day moving average of $122.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.17.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. The Hartford Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,086 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 622 shares in the company, valued at $74,279.24. This represents a 63.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,429 shares of company stock worth $13,618,028. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.