The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Receives $122.00 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $122.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HIG shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $122.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In related news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 6,865 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.04, for a total transaction of $803,479.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,820 shares in the company, valued at $3,021,972.80. The trade was a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 19,305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,941,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the second quarter worth $78,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the second quarter valued at $213,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.2% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 97,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 41.4% during the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

Shares of HIG opened at $109.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $114.75 and a 200 day moving average of $112.22. The company has a market capitalization of $31.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.95. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $124.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is an increase from The Hartford Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.84%.

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.