Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,913,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,585 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.66% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $209,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,938,421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $430,272,000 after buying an additional 581,103 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,234,480 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $135,052,000 after acquiring an additional 34,938 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 265.5% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,213,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $132,710,000 after acquiring an additional 881,224 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 935,298 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $110,000,000 after acquiring an additional 277,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 437.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 871,318 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,322,000 after purchasing an additional 709,324 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HIG shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of HIG stock opened at $116.70 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $112.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.66.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Equities analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.10%.

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.