Citigroup Raises The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target to $116.00

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $113.00 to $116.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HIG. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $117.00 to $111.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a report on Monday, April 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Hartford Financial Services Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $105.88.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HIG traded up $0.83 on Monday, reaching $103.00. 427,845 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,746,283. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.98. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 52 week low of $67.42 and a 52 week high of $103.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 10.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Jonathan R. Bennett sold 18,335 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value of $1,847,801.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,584,301.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 72,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total value of $7,186,697.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,896,840.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan R. Bennett sold 18,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.78, for a total value of $1,847,801.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,584,301.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 180,580 shares of company stock valued at $17,711,492. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HIG. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 26,360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,869,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,365 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 45,735 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,243,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,462,285 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $103,691,000 after purchasing an additional 186,546 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

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.