Texas Permanent School Fund Lowers Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 8th, 2023

Texas Permanent School Fund lessened its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG – Get Rating) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,196 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 527 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $3,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,649,095 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $349,947,000 after buying an additional 147,509 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 662,230 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,019,000 after buying an additional 108,387 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 119,117 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,378,000 after purchasing an additional 8,721 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 462,223 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,630,000 after purchasing an additional 156,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 206,705 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,950,000 after purchasing an additional 12,913 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.93% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $69.73 on Monday. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.17 and a fifty-two week high of $79.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The insurance provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.68. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 8.33%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is 29.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on HIG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $78.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, April 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. 888 reaffirmed a “reiterates” rating on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Credit Suisse Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $104.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $92.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Stepnowski sold 336 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total value of $26,070.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,255.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, 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 approximately $4,453,409.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Stepnowski sold 336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.59, for a total transaction of $26,070.24. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,255.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,587 shares of company stock valued at $7,524,178 in the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company Profile

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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.