JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 2,394,023 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 31.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,227,089 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,394,023 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.80% of The Hartford Financial Services Group worth $571,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in The Hartford Financial Services Group during the third quarter worth about $340,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 19,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,264,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 328.8% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 11,343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after buying an additional 8,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 51,173 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,018,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $130.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, CEO Christopher Swift sold 98,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.39, for a total transaction of $11,805,563.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,412,161.98. The trade was a 31.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 13,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.20, for a total transaction of $1,539,773.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,661.60. The trade was a 29.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HIG opened at $122.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $115.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.47 and a 1-year high of $124.90.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The insurance provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a return on equity of 19.55% and a net margin of 11.72%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is currently 20.10%.

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.