The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $129.75 and last traded at $127.95, with a volume of 1955289 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $128.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HIG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James raised their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $118.00 to $117.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $129.71.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Up 0.5%

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 moving average of $120.66 and a 200 day moving average of $116.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.70.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.97 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The Hartford Financial Services Group's payout ratio is 20.74%.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total transaction of $11,805,563.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,412,161.98. The trade was a 31.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. The trade was a 29.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,429 shares of company stock worth $13,618,028. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Financial Services Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HIG. Optimize Financial Inc lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 12.9% during the first quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 3,170 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 28,218.5% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 757,804 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $93,763,000 after purchasing an additional 755,128 shares during the last quarter. Dean Capital Management boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 16,370 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,025,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at $338,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 1st quarter worth $815,000. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company's stock.

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.