California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 32,596 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,380,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 32,596 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.48% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $150,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,701,675 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $514,363,000 after acquiring an additional 202,487 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,938,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $430,272,000 after purchasing an additional 581,103 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $416,340,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,913,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $209,382,000 after purchasing an additional 39,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,457,147 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $159,412,000 after purchasing an additional 114,716 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on HIG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.94.

Insider Activity at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total value of $1,539,773.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,661.60. This trade represents a 29.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total transaction of $11,805,563.79. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,412,161.98. This trade represents a 31.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $122.21 on Monday. 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 Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.47 and a fifty-two week high of $124.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $115.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.27.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 19.55%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Profile

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.