Eastern Bank Boosts Stock Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Eastern Bank boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 0.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 211,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $24,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 19,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,948,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 34.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HIG shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $130.00 price target on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.59.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of HIG stock traded down $1.04 on Tuesday, hitting $119.89. The stock had a trading volume of 474,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,592,755. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.92 and a twelve month high of $123.23. The firm has a market cap of $35.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $115.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.50.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to buyback $3.30 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 10.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.