The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) Shares Acquired by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG – Free Report) by 114.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,870 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 23,943 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $4,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 27.6% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 221,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,309,000 after acquiring an additional 48,004 shares during the last quarter. Promethos Capital LLC lifted its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 118.2% in the 2nd quarter. Promethos Capital LLC now owns 40,929 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,115,000 after purchasing an additional 22,170 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 229,707 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,095,000 after purchasing an additional 34,690 shares during the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.5% during the second quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 32,770 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,295,000 after buying an additional 2,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the second quarter valued at about $1,113,000. 93.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Hartford Financial Services Group

In other news, EVP Michael R. Fisher sold 4,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,503,582.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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Several brokerages recently issued reports on HIG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Argus upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.22.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on HIG

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE HIG opened at $116.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $34.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.21. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a one year low of $68.82 and a one year high of $117.84.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.26. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 25th that permits the company to repurchase $3.30 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 10.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

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

The Hartford Financial Services Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.