Northern Trust Corp Increases Stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,537,665 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 519,717 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.22% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $387,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,251,389 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $792,796,000 after buying an additional 81,495 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $514,363,000 after purchasing an additional 202,487 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,938,421 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $430,272,000 after purchasing an additional 581,103 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $416,340,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,448,982 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $377,319,000 after purchasing an additional 25,053 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HIG shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $126.87.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of HIG stock traded up $3.82 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $125.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,614,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,571,393. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $35.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $118.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.59. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $96.31 and a one year high of $125.92.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.97 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. The Hartford Financial Services Group's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The Hartford Financial Services Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.74%.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Allison G. Niderno sold 1,086 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was 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 $74,279.24. This represents a 63.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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.

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.