Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 5,426 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 2nd, 2023

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG – Get Rating) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 101,907 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,426 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $7,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HIG. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at $674,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 88.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 5,278 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 235.4% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HIG shares. StockNews.com started coverage on The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 31st. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $92.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.07.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

HIG opened at $71.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.85. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.17 and a 52-week high of $79.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $70.96 and its 200-day moving average is $73.30.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.68. The company had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 8.33%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 7.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.26%.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In related news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 38,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.85, for a total value of $3,029,532.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,453,409.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 34,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total value of $2,711,751.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 197,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,446,348.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 38,915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.85, for a total value of $3,029,532.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,205 shares in the company, valued at $4,453,409.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,587 shares of company stock valued at $7,524,178 over the last ninety days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company Profile

(Get Rating)

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc is an insurance and financial services company. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, Property & Casualty Other Operations, Group Benefits, Hartford Funds, and Corporate. The Commercial Lines segment provides workers’ compensation, property, automobile, liability and umbrella coverage under several different products.