Mount Lucas Management LP Grows Stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Mount Lucas Management LP lifted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 45.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 78,481 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,691 shares during the period. The Hartford Financial Services Group accounts for about 2.3% of Mount Lucas Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $7,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 78,654 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,402,000 after buying an additional 3,297 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,266 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 16,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after buying an additional 1,699 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,893 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,859,422 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $149,460,000 after buying an additional 29,605 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HIG. Bank of America lowered their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup cut The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $120.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.94.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

NYSE:HIG traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $114.49. 1,281,883 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,628,513. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $107.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.43. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.82 and a one year high of $117.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $33.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.93.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 11.44%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.36%.

The Hartford Financial Services Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, July 25th that allows the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 10.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total value of $414,809.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.