The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) Price Target Raised to $125.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $122.00 to $125.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup cut The Hartford Financial Services Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Argus upgraded The Hartford Financial Services Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $113.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of The Hartford Financial Services Group from $112.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Hartford Financial Services Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.76.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Trading Down 6.8 %

The Hartford Financial Services Group stock traded down $8.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $112.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,956,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,382,046. The firm has a market cap of $32.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.93. The Hartford Financial Services Group has a 12-month low of $68.92 and a 12-month high of $123.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $116.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.87.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE:HIG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.49 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. The Hartford Financial Services Group had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 21.20%. Equities analysts forecast that The Hartford Financial Services Group will post 10.02 earnings per share for the current year.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is an increase from The Hartford Financial Services Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The Hartford Financial Services Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.77%.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HIG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,809,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $584,177,000 after buying an additional 69,007 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 7.9% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,191,914 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $328,320,000 after purchasing an additional 233,742 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 4.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,497,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $150,605,000 after purchasing an additional 70,018 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,367,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,478,000 after purchasing an additional 31,806 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its stake in The Hartford Financial Services Group by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,229,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $123,577,000 after buying an additional 40,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.42% of the company’s stock.

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.