Janus Henderson Group PLC Trims Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 484,269 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 41,584 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.17% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $52,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,873 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,619,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,576 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 62,855 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,876,000 after buying an additional 3,165 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,329 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at $521,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.07.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $1,539,773.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,086 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was 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 owns 622 shares of the company's stock, valued at $74,279.24. This trade represents a 63.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,429 shares of company stock valued at $13,618,028 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of HIG traded up $1.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $131.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,569,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,578,647. The firm has a market cap of $37.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.16 and a 12 month high of $131.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $120.66 and a 200 day moving average of $116.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.05. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. 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 business posted $2.34 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict 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 dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. 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.