The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Given New $113.00 Price Target at Citigroup

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $109.00 to $113.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on HIG. Roth Mkm boosted their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $100.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $94.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $92.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $105.47.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Up 0.4 %

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $97.73 on Tuesday. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 52 week low of $67.05 and a 52 week high of $103.64. The company has a market capitalization of $29.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.90. 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 Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The insurance provider reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s payout ratio is 23.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $784,493.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,468,392. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total value of $784,493.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,468,392. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Swift sold 956 shares of the company’s 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 owns 170,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,635,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 249,082 shares of company stock worth $22,404,321. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of The Hartford Financial Services Group

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,704 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 3,952 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in the 1st quarter valued at $674,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 88.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,238 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 5,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 235.4% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.