The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Downgraded by Citigroup to Neutral

Citigroup lowers shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG – Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $114.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $116.00.

HIG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $117.00 to $111.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Argus boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $104.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group to $144.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an outperform rating and issued a $120.00 price target (up previously from $100.00) on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned 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 $106.71.

Read Our Latest Research Report on The Hartford Financial Services Group

The Hartford Financial Services Group Stock Down 2.2%

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock opened at $100.54 on Friday. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a fifty-two week low of $68.82 and a fifty-two week high of $105.20. The stock has a market cap of $29.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The insurance provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 9.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jonathan R. Bennett sold 18,335 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,584,301.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Jonathan R. Bennett sold 18,335 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,584,301.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Beth Ann Costello sold 72,076 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total transaction of $7,186,697.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,896,840.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Hartford Financial Services Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 519 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 2,931 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 34.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

About The Hartford Financial Services Group

(Get 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.

Read More

Receive News & Ratings for The Hartford Financial Services Group Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for The Hartford Financial Services Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.