Paradigm Financial Partners LLC Sells 11,474 Shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG)

Paradigm Financial Partners LLC cut its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:HIG) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,472 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,474 shares during the period. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group were worth $1,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HIG. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 26.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,142,167 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $364,631,000 after buying an additional 1,083,420 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 144.3% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 926,033 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $65,665,000 after purchasing an additional 546,969 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,958,172 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $237,600,000 after purchasing an additional 497,916 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group by 41.5% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,592,479 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $112,923,000 after purchasing an additional 467,030 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,179,682 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $83,651,000 after buying an additional 224,979 shares during the last quarter. 93.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Price Performance

HIG stock traded down $3.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.30. 2,889,683 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,622,156. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $28.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.89. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.05 and a 52-week high of $103.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.34.

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 company had revenue of $6.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 21.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $106.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $96.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on The Hartford Financial Services Group from $110.00 to $109.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Seven 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.60, for a total transaction of $784,493.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,468,392. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other The Hartford Financial Services Group news, EVP Robert W. Paiano sold 14,528 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.97, for a total value of $1,365,196.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,397,044.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Adin M. Tooker sold 8,206 shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,820 shares in the company, valued at $2,468,392. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 106,501 shares of company stock worth $10,141,126. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

The Hartford Financial Services Group 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.