Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 4.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 31,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $3,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $278,704,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,119,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $491,915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,290 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 72.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,335,594 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,633,000 after purchasing an additional 559,019 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,980,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 85.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,074,470 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $86,366,000 after buying an additional 495,192 shares during the period. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.47, for a total transaction of $414,809.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,503,582.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HIG opened at $116.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.38. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.82 and a twelve month high of $116.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $34.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.92.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.02 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 21.20% and a net margin of 11.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 25th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 10.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on HIG. Bank of America decreased their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of 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. Argus raised shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine 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 $110.88.

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.