The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target Raised to $110.00 at Morgan Stanley

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $110.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $106.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an outperform rating and set a $120.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $105.56.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $96.95 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $28.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.06. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $67.05 and a fifty-two week high of $103.64.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.62. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 10.21%. The business had revenue of $6.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 23.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $82,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,635,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.00, for a total transaction of $82,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 170,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,635,480. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 38,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.42, for a total value of $3,713,269.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 69,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,600,105.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 202,264 shares of company stock valued at $18,438,369 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Financial Services Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Selway Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group during the third quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

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.