McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 464.8% in the 4th quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 305 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Selway Asset Management purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 85.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 520 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HIG. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.06.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Performance

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $103.04. 1,548,438 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,828,843. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $93.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.06. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.01 and a 12 month high of $103.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.62. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.21% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The business had revenue of $6.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 9.94 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.53%.

Insider Transactions at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 956 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total value of $82,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,635,480. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 956 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $82,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,635,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 14,528 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.97, for a total value of $1,365,196.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,397,044.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 259,342 shares of company stock valued at $23,256,523 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.