Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Purchases New Position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE acquired a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,408 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3,342.9% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 241 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 293 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 49.8% during the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 526.3% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on HIG. Barclays upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of 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 research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $122.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.47 and a 1-year high of $124.90.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. On average, analysts expect that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.10%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company 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.